Sample records for nuclear fuel pins

Systems and methods for inspection of nuclearfuelpins to determine fiss loading and uniformity. The system includes infeed mechanisms which stockpile, identify and install nuclearfuelpins into an irradiator. The irradiator provides extended activation times using an approximately cylindrical arrangement of numerous fuelpins. The fuelpins can be arranged in a magazine which is rotated about a longitudinal axis of rotation. A source of activating radiation is positioned equidistant from the fuelpins along the longitudinal axis of rotation. The source of activating radiation is preferably oscillated along the axis to uniformly activate the fuelpins. A detector is provided downstream of the irradiator. The detector uses a plurality of detector elements arranged in an axial array. Each detector element inspects a segment of the fuelpin. The activated fuelpin being inspected in the detector is oscillated repeatedly over a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent detector elements, thereby multiplying the effective time available for detecting radiation emissions from the activated fuelpin.

A fuelpin for a liquid metal nuclear reactor is provided. The fuelpin includes a generally cylindrical cladding member with metallic fuel material disposed therein. At least a portion of the fuel material extends radially outwardly to the inner diameter of the cladding member to promote efficient transfer of heat to the reactor coolant system. The fuel material defines at least one void space therein to facilitate swelling of the fuel material during fission.

A bottom end member (17b) on a retrievable fuelpin (13b) secures the pin (13b) within a nuclear reactor (12) by engaging on a transverse attachment rail (18) with a spring clip type of action. Removal and reinstallation if facilitated as only axial movement of the fuelpin (13b) is required for either operation. A pair of resilient axially extending blades (31) are spaced apart to define a slot (24) having a seat region (34) which receives the rail (18) and having a land region (37), closer to the tips (39) of the blades (31) which is normally of less width than the rail (18). Thus an axially directed force sufficient to wedge the resilient blades (31) apart is required to emplace or release the fuelpin (13b) such force being greater than the axial forces on the fuelpins (13b) which occur during operation of the reactor (12).

A welding fixture for locating a driver sleeve about the open end of a nuclearfuelpin cladding. The welding fixture includes a holder provided with an open cavity having shoulders for properly positioning the driver sleeve, the end cap, and a soft, high temperature resistant plastic protective sleeve that surrounds a portion of the end cap stem. Ejected contaminant particles spewed forth by closure of the cladding by pulsed magnetic welding techniques are captured within a contamination trap formed in the holder for ultimate removal and disposal of contaminating particles along with the holder.

A welding fixture is described for locating a driver sleeve about the open end of a nuclearfuelpin cladding. The welding fixture includes a holder provided with an open cavity having shoulders for properly positioning the driver sleeve, the end cap, and a soft, high temperature resistant plastic protective sleeve that surrounds a portion of the end cap stem. Ejected contaminant particles spewed forth by closure of the cladding by pulsed magnetic welding techniques are captured within a contamination trap formed in the holder for ultimate removal and disposal of contaminating particles along with the holder.

Disclosure is made of a method and a correspondingly adapted facility for the nondestructive analysis of the concentation of fuel and poison in a nuclear reactor fuelpin. The concentrations of fuel and poison in successive sections along the entire length of the fuelpin are determined by measuring the reactivity of a thermal reactor as each successive small section of the fuelpin is exposed to the neutron flux of the reactor core and comparing the measured reactivity with the reactivities measured for standard fuelpins having various known concentrations. Only a small section of the length of the fuelpin is exposed to the neutron flux at any one time while the remainder of the fuelpin is shielded from the neutron flux. In order to expose only a small section at any one time, a boron-10-lined dry traverse tube is passed through the test region within the core of a low-power thermal nuclear reactor which has a very high fuel sensitivity. A narrow window in the boron-10 lining is positioned at the core center line. The fuelpins are then systematically traversed through the tube past the narrow window such that successive small sections along the length of the fuelpin are exposed to the neutron flux which passes through the narrow window.

An automated loading system for nuclear reactor fuel elements utilizes a gravity feed conveyor which permits individual fuelpins to roll along a constrained path perpendicular to their respective lengths. The individual lengths of fuel cladding are directed onto movable transports, where they are aligned coaxially with the axes of associated handling equipment at appropriate production stations. Each fuelpin can be be reciprocated axially and/or rotated about its axis as required during handling steps. The fuelpins are inerted as a batch prior to welding of end caps by one of two disclosed welding systems.

An automated loading system for nuclear reactor fuel elements utilizes a gravity feed conveyor which permits individual fuelpins to roll along a constrained path perpendicular to their respective lengths. The individual lengths of fuel cladding are directed onto movable transports, where they are aligned coaxially with the axes of associated handling equipment at appropriate production stations. Each fuelpin can be reciprocated axially and/or rotated about its axis as required during handling steps. The fuelpins are inserted as a batch prior to welding of end caps by one of two disclosed welding systems.

An improved fuelpin cladding, particularly adapted for use in breeder reactors, consisting of composite tubing with austenitic steel on the outer portion of the thickness of the tube wall and with nickel and/or ferritic material on the inner portion of the thickness of the tube wall. The nickel forms a sacrificial barrier as it reacts with certain fission products thereby reducing fission product activity at the austenitic steel interface. The ferritic material forms a preventive barrier for the austenitic steel as it is immune to liquid metal embrittlement. The improved cladding permits the use of high density fuel which in turn leads to a better breeding ratio in breeder reactors, and will increase the threshold at which failure occurs during temperature transients.

An improved fuelpin cladding, particularly adapted for use in breeder reactors, is described which consist of composite tubing with austenitic steel on the outer portion of the thickness of the tube wall and with nickel an/or ferritic material on the inner portion of the thickness of the tube wall. The nickel forms a sacrificial barrier as it reacts with certain fission products thereby reducing fission product activity at the austenitic steel interface. The ferritic material forms a preventive barrier for the austenitic steel as it is immune to liquid metal embrittlement. The improved cladding permits the use of high density fuel which in turn leads to a better breeding ratio in breeder reactors, and will increase the threshold at which failure occurs during temperature transients.

Disclosed is an improved fuelpin cladding, particularly adapted for use in breeder reactors, consisting of composite tubing with austenitic steel on the outer portion of the thickness of the tube wall and with nickel and/or ferritic material on the inner portion of the thickness of the tube wall. The nickel forms a sacrificial barrier as it reacts with certain fission products thereby reducing fission product activity at the austenitic steel interface. The ferritic material forms a preventive barrier for the austenitic steel as it is immune to liquid metal embrittlement. The improved cladding permits the use of high density fuel which in turn leads to a better breeding ratio in breeder reactors, and will increase the threshold at which failure occurs during temperature transients. 2 figs.

Thermo-mechanical contributions to pellet-clad interaction (PCI) in advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) are modelled in the ABAQUS finite element (FE) code. User supplied sub-routines permit the modelling of the non-linear behaviour of AGR fuel through life. Through utilisation of ABAQUS's well-developed pre- and post-processing ability, the behaviour of the axially constrained steel clad fuel was modelled. The 2D axisymmetric model includes thermo-mechanical behaviour of the fuel with time and condition dependent material properties. Pellet cladding gap dynamics and thermal behaviour are also modelled. The model treats heat up as a fully coupled temperature-displacement study. Dwell time and direct power cycling was applied to model the impact of online refuelling, a key feature of the AGR. The model includes the visco-plastic behaviour of the fuel under the stress and irradiation conditions within an AGR core and a non-linear heat transfer model. A multiscale fission gas release model is applied to compute pin pressure; this model is coupled to the PCI gap model through an explicit fission gas inventory code. Whole pin, whole life, models are able to show the impact of the fuel on all segments of cladding including weld end caps and cladding pellet locking mechanisms (unique to AGR fuel). The development of this model in a commercial FE package shows that the development of a potentially verified and future-proof fuel performance code can be created and used. The usability of a FE based fuel performance code would be an enhancement over past codes. Pre- and post-processors have lowered the entry barrier for the development of a fuel performance model to permit the ability to model complicated systems. Typical runtimes for a 5 year axisymmetric model takes less than one hour on a single core workstation. The current model has implemented: Non-linear fuel thermal behaviour, including a complex description of heat flow in the fuel. Coupled with a variety of

A positioning and locking device for fuelpin to grid attachment provides an inexpensive means of positively positioning and locking the individual fuelpins which make up the driver fuel assemblies used in nuclear reactors. The device can be adapted for use with a currently used attachment grid assembly design and insures that the pins remain in their proper position throughout the in-reactor life of the assembly. This device also simplifies fuel bundle assembly in that a complete row of fuelpins can be added to the bundle during each step of assembly.

Lateral spacing between FFTF fuelpins is required to provide a passageway for the sodium coolant to flow over each pin to remove heat generated by the fission process. This spacing is provided by wrapping each fuelpin with type 316 stainless steel wire. This wire has a 1.435mm (0.0565 in.) to 1.448mm (0.0570 in.) diameter, contains 17 +- 2% cold work and was fabricated and tested to exacting RDT Standards. About 500 kg (1100 lbs) or 39 Km (24 miles) of fuelpin wrap wire is used in each core loading. Fabrication procedures and quality assurance tests are described.

Irradiation-induced recrystallization appears to be a general phenomenon in that it is observed to occur in a variety of nuclearfuel types, e.g. U-xMo, UO2, and U3O8. For temperatures below that where significant thermal annealing of defects occurs, an expression is derived for the fission density at which irradiation-induced recrystallization is initiated that is athermal and weakly dependent on fission rate. The initiation of recrystallization is to be distinguished from the subsequent progression and eventual consumption of the original fuel grain. The formulation takes into account the observed microstructural evolution of the fuel, the role of precipitate pinning and fission gas bubbles, and the triggering event for recrystallization. The calculated dislocation density, fission gas bubble-size distribution, and fission density at which recrystallization first appears are compared to measured quantities.

A cyclone valve surrounds a wall opening through which cladding is projected. An axial valve inlet surrounds the cladding. Air is drawn through the inlet by a cyclone stream within the valve. An inflatable seal is included to physically engage a fuelpin subassembly during loading of fuel pellets.

A cyclone valve surrounds a wall opening through which cladding is projected. An axial valve inlet surrounds the cladding. Air is drawn through the inlet by a cyclone stream within the valve. An inflatable seal is included to physically engage a fuelpin subassembly during loading of fuel pellets.

This report discusses research conducted to develop and demonstrate a methodology for calculation of the time interval between receipt of the containment isolation signals and the first fuelpin failure for loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). Demonstration calculations were performed for a Babcock and Wilcox (B W) design (Oconee) and a Westinghouse (W) four-loop design (Seabrook). Sensitivity studies were performed to assess the impacts of fuelpin burnup, axial peaking factor, break size, emergency core cooling system availability, and main coolant pump trip on these times. The analysis was performed using the following codes: FRAPCON-2, for the calculation of steady-state fuel behavior; SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 and TRACPF1/MOD1, for the calculation of the transient thermal-hydraulic conditions in the reactor system; and FRAP-T6, for the calculation of transient fuel behavior. In addition to the calculation of fuelpin failure timing, this analysis provides a comparison of the predicted results of SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 and TRAC-PF1/MOD1 for large-break LOCA analysis. Using SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 thermal-hydraulic data, the shortest time intervals calculated between initiation of containment isolation and fuelpin failure are 10.4 seconds and 19.1 seconds for the B W and W plants, respectively. Using data generated by TRAC-PF1/MOD1, the shortest intervals are 10.3 seconds and 29.1 seconds for the B W and W plants, respectively. These intervals are for a double-ended, offset-shear, cold leg break, using the technical specification maximum peaking factor and applied to fuel with maximum design burnup. Using peaking factors commensurate with actual burnups would result in longer intervals for both reactor designs. This document provides appendices K and L of this report which provide plots for the timing analysis of PWR fuelpin failures for Oconee and Seabrook respectively.

Fuelpin decontamination is the process of removing particulates of radioactive material from its exterior surface. It is an important process step in nuclearfuel fabrication. It assumes more significance with plutonium bearing fuel known to be highly radio-toxic owing to its relatively longer biological half life and shorter radiological half life. Release of even minute quantity of plutonium oxide powder in the atmosphere during its handling can cause alarming air borne activity and may pose a severe health hazard to personnel working in the vicinity. Decontamination of fuelpins post pellet loading operation is thus mandatory before they are removed from the glove box for further processing and assembly. This paper describes the setting up of ultrasonic decontamination process, installed inside a custom built fume-hood in the production line, comprising of a cleaning tank with transducers, heaters, pin handling device and water filtration system and its application in cleaning of fuelpins for prototype fast breeder reactor. The cleaning process yielded a typical decontamination efficiency of more than 99%. PMID:24405906

Research has been conducted to develop and demonstrate a methodology for calculation of the time interval between receipt of the containment isolation signals and the first fuelpin failure for loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). Demonstration calculations were performed for a Babcock and Wilcox (B W) design (Oconee) and a Westinghouse (W) four-loop design (Seabrook). Sensitivity studies were performed to assess the impacts of fuelpin bumup, axial peaking factor, break size, emergency core cooling system availability, and main coolant pump trip on these times. The analysis was performed using the following codes: FRAPCON-2, for the calculation of steady-state fuel behavior; SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 and TRACPF1/MOD1, for the calculation of the transient thermal-hydraulic conditions in the reactor system; and FRAP-T6, for the calculation of transient fuel behavior. In addition to the calculation of fuelpin failure timing, this analysis provides a comparison of the predicted results of SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 and TRAC-PFL/MOD1 for large-break LOCA analysis. Using SCDAP/RELAP5/MOD3 thermal-hydraulic data, the shortest time intervals calculated between initiation of containment isolation and fuelpin failure are 10.4 seconds and 19.1 seconds for the B W and W plants, respectively. Using data generated by TRAC-PF1/MOD1, the shortest intervals are 10.3 seconds and 29.1 seconds for the B W and W plants, respectively. These intervals are for a double-ended, offset-shear, cold leg break, using the technical specification maximum peaking factor and applied to fuel with maximum design bumup. Using peaking factors commensurate widi actual bumups would result in longer intervals for both reactor designs. This document also contains appendices A through J of this report.

We describe an efficient and nonlinearly consistent parallel solution methodology for solving coupled nonlinear thermal transport problems that occur in nuclear reactor applications over hundreds of individual 3D physical subdomains. Efficiency is obtained by leveraging knowledge of the physical domains, the physics on individual domains, and the couplings between them for preconditioning within a Jacobian Free Newton Krylov method. Details of the computational infrastructure that enabled this work, namely the open source Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) package developed by the authors are described. The details of verification and validation experiments, and parallel performance analysis in weak and strong scaling studies demonstrating the achieved efficiency of the algorithm are presented. Moreover, numerical experiments demonstrate that the preconditioner developed is independent of the number of fuel subdomains in a fuel rod, which is particularly important when simulating different types of fuel rods. Finally, we demonstrate the power of the coupling methodology by considering problems with couplings between surface and volume physics and coupling of nonlinear thermal transport in fuel rods to an external radiation transport code.

We describe an efficient and nonlinearly consistent parallel solution methodology for solving coupled nonlinear thermal transport problems that occur in nuclear reactor applications over hundreds of individual 3D physical subdomains. Efficiency is obtained by leveraging knowledge of the physical domains, the physics on individual domains, and the couplings between them for preconditioning within a Jacobian Free Newton Krylov method. Details of the computational infrastructure that enabled this work, namely the open source Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) package developed by the authors are described. The details of verification and validation experiments, and parallel performance analysis in weak and strong scaling studies demonstratingmore » the achieved efficiency of the algorithm are presented. Moreover, numerical experiments demonstrate that the preconditioner developed is independent of the number of fuel subdomains in a fuel rod, which is particularly important when simulating different types of fuel rods. Finally, we demonstrate the power of the coupling methodology by considering problems with couplings between surface and volume physics and coupling of nonlinear thermal transport in fuel rods to an external radiation transport code.« less

The results obtained in a series of criticality experiments performed as part of a joint program on criticality data development between the United States Department of Energy and the Power Reactor and NuclearFuel Development Corporation of Japan are presented in this report along with a complete description of the experiments. The experiments involved lattices of Fast Test Reactor (FTR) fuelpins in an organic moderator mixture similar to that used in the solvent extraction stage of fuel reprocessing. The experiments are designed to provide data for direct comparison with previously performed experimental measurements with water moderated lattices of FTR fuelpins. The same lattice arrangements and FTR fuelpin types are used in these organic moderated experimental assemblies as were used in the water moderated experiments. The organic moderator is a mixture of 38 wt % tributylphosphate in a normal paraffin hydrocarbon mixture of C{sub 11}H{sub 24} to C{sub 15}H{sub 32} molecules. Critical sizes of 1054.8, 599.2, 301.8, 199.5 and 165.3 fuelpins were obtained respectively for organic moderated lattices having 0.761 cm, 0.968 cm, 1.242 cm, 1.537 cm and 1.935 cm square lattice pitches as compared to 1046.9, 571.9, 293.9, 199.7 and 165.1 fuelpins for the same lattices water moderated.

This patent relates to an optical identification system developed for post-irradiation disassembly and analysis of fuel bundle assemblies. The apparatus is designed to be lowered onto a stationary fuelpin to read identification numbers or letters imprinted on the circumference of the top fuelpin and cap. (DLC)

Maximum cladding temperatures occur when the IDENT 1578 fuelpin shipping container is installed in the T-3 Cask. The maximum allowable cladding temperature of 800/sup 0/F is reached when the rate of energy deposited in the 19-pin basket reaches 400 watts. Since 45% of the energy which is generated in the fuel escapes the 19-pin basket without being deposited, mostly gamma energy, the maximum allowable rate of heat generation is 400/.55 = 727 watts. Similarly, the maximum allowable cladding temperature of 800/sup 0/F is reached when the rate of energy deposited in the 40-pin basket reaches 465 watts. Since 33% of the energy which is generated in the fuel escapes the 40-pin basket without being deposited, mostly gamma energy, the maximum allowable rate of heat generation is 465/.66 = 704 watts. The IDENT 1578 fuelpin shipping container therefore meets its thermal design criteria. IDENT 1578 can handle fuelpins with a decay heat load of 600 watts while maintaining the maximum fuelpin cladding temperature below 800/sup 0/F. The emissivities which were determined from the test results for the basket tubes and container are relatively low and correspond to new, shiny conditions. As the IDENT 1578 container is exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time during the transportation of fuelpins, the emissivities will probably increase. This will result in reduced temperatures.

The whole-pin furnace system is a new in-cell experimental facility constructed to investigate how irradiated fuelpins may fail under potential reactor accident conditions. Extensive checkouts have demonstrated excellent performance in remote operation, temperature control, pin breach detection, and fission gas handling. The system is currently being used in testing of EBIR-II-irradiated Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) metal fuelpins; future testing will include EBR-II-irradiated mixed-oxide fuelpins. 7 refs., 4 figs.

Passive time coincidence measurements have been performed on highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide fuelpins at the Idaho National Laboratory Power Burst Facility. These experiments evaluate HEU detection capability using passive coincidence counting when utilizing moderated 3He tubes. Data acquisition was performed with the Nuclear Material Identification System (NMIS) to calculate the neutron coincidence time distributions. The amounts of HEU measured were 1 kg, 4 kg, and 8 kg in sealed 55-gallon drums. Data collected with the 3He tubes also include passive measurement of 31 kg of depleted uranium (DU) in order to determine the ability to distinguish HEU from DU. This paper presents results from the measurements.

A total of 86 experimental fuelpins with various fuel, liner, and cladding candidate materials have been irradiated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) and the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor as part of the SP-100 fuelpin irradiation testing program. Postirradiation examination results from these fuelpin are key in establishing performance correlations and demonstrating the lifetime and safety of the reactor fuel system. This paper provides a brief description of the in-reactor fuelpin tests and presents the most recent irradiation data on the performance of wrought rhenium (Re) liner material and high density UN fuel at goal burnup of 6 atom percent (at. %). It also provides an overview of the significant variety of other fuel/liner/cladding combinations which were irradiated as part of this program and which may be of interest to more advanced efforts.

Trends in and factors related to the nuclear industry and nuclearfuel production are discussed. Topics addressed include nuclear reactors, survival of the U.S. uranium industry, production costs, budget cuts by the Department of Energy and U.S. Geological survey for resource studies, mining, and research/development activities. (JN)

Thermal analysis of a pin from the FSP-1 fuels irradiation test has been completed. The purpose of the analysis was to provide predictions of fuelpin temperatures, determine the flow regime within the lithium annulus of the test assembly, and provide a standardized model for a consistent basis of comparison between pins within the test assembly. The calculations have predicted that the pin is operating at slightly above the test design temperatures and that the flow regime within the lithium annulus is a laminar buoyancy driven flow. 7 refs., 5 figs.

A resistance butt welding procedure was developed and qualified for joining ferritic fuelpin cladding to end caps. The cladding are INCO MA957 and PNC ODS lots 63DSA and 1DK1, ferritic stainless steels strengthened by oxide dispersion, while the end caps are HT9 a martensitic stainless steel. With adequate parameter control the weld is formed without a residual melt phase and its strength approaches that of the cladding. This welding process required a new design for fuelpin end cap and weld joint. Summaries of the development, characterization, and fabrication processes are given for these fuelpins. 13 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

In response to the goals outlined by the U.S. Department of Energy's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program, Argonne National Laboratory has initiated an effort to create an integrated multi-physics multi-resolution thermal hydraulic simulation tool package for the evaluation of nuclear power plant design and safety. As part of this effort, the applicability of a variety of thermal hydraulic analysis methods for the prediction of heat transfer and fluid dynamics in the wire-wrapped fuel-rod bundles found in a fast reactor core is being evaluated. The work described herein provides an initial assessment of the capabilities of the general purpose commercial computational fluid dynamics code Star-CD for the prediction of fluid dynamic characteristics in a wire wrapped fast reactor fuel assembly. A 7-pin wire wrapped fuel rod assembly based on the dimensions of fuel elements in the concept Advanced Burner Test Reactor [1] was simulated for different mesh densities and domain configurations. A model considering a single axial span of the wire wrapped fuel assembly was initially used to assess mesh resolution effects. The influence of the inflow/outflow boundary conditions on the predicted flow fields in the single-span model were then investigated through comparisons with the central span region of models which included 3 and 5 spans. The change in grid refinement had minimal impact on the inter-channel exchange within the assembly resulting in roughly a 5 percent maximum difference. The central span of the 3-span and 5-span cases exhibits much higher velocities than the single span case,, with the largest deviation (15 to 20 percent) occurring furthest away from the wire spacer grids in the higher velocity regions. However, the differences between predicted flow fields in the 3-span and 5-span models are minimal.

Fuelpins removed from an irradiated pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) fuel bundle discharged after an extended burn up of 15,000 MWd/tU have been subjected to isothermal heating tests in temperature range 700-1300 °C inside hot-cells. The heating of the fuelpins was carried out using a specially designed remotely operable furnace, which allowed localized heating of about 100 mm length of the fuelpin at one end under flowing argon gas or in air atmosphere. Post-test examination performed in the hot-cells included visual examination, leak testing, dimension measurement and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Fuelpins having internal pressure of 2.1-2.7 MPa due to fission gas release underwent ballooning and micro cracking during heating for 10 min at 800 °C and 900 °C but not at 700 °C. Fuelpin heated at 1300 °C showed complete disruption of cladding in heating zone, due to the embrittlement of the cladding. The examination of fuel from the pin tested at 1300 °C showed presence of large number of bubbles; both intragranular as well as intergranular bubbles. Details of the experiments and the results are presented in this paper.

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) Series III driver fuel design consists of U-10Zr fuel slugs contained in a ferritic alloy cladding. A liquid metal, sodium bond between the fuel and cladding is required to prevent unacceptable temperatures during operation. Excessive voiding or porosity in the sodium thermal bond could result in localized fuel melting during irradiation. It is therefore imperative that bond quality be verified during fabrication of these metal fuelpins prior to irradiation. This document discusses this verification.

Four EBR-II tests were used to scope the behavior of breached mixed-oxide pins. After release of stored fission gas, delayed-neutron signals were large and easily detected, although not readily correlated with exposed fuel area. No problems were met during reactor operation or fuel handling. Fuel-sodium reaction caused only narrow breaches which released minute amounts of fuel and fission products; the reaction product appeared dense and non-friable. These initial results indicated LMFBR oxide pins could have considerable potential for operating in the breached mode.

In-Pile experimental tests were conducted on two fuelpins mounted side-by-side in a holder assembly. The fuelpins consisted of stacked fully enriched UO2 pellets enclosed in a type 316 stainless steel clad 1/2 inch outside diameter and 3 inches in length. Each fuelpin contained four pellets for a total of 22 grams of fuel weight. The experiment was operated to maintain the maximum clad temperature at 395 K corresponding to a fuel temperature at the central void surface of 2350 K. Total primary coolant water flow past the pin holder was calculated to be 110 gallons per minute. Forty-four gallons per minute at a velocity of 36.5 feet per second flowed around each fuelpin. Calculations indicated the maximum heat flux was at the point of the highest temperature and was equal to 0.24 kW/sq cm or 7.62 Btu/hr sq ft. A series of high resolution neutron radiographs of the nuclearfueled vapor transport capsule was taken. The thermal neutrons emitted from the core of the 60 megawatt Plum Brook reactor facility were used.

A fuelpin clad with TZM and containing solid pellets of uranium dioxide was fission heated in a static helium-cooled capsule at a maximum surface temperature of 1700 K for approximately 1000 hr and to a total burnup of 2.0 percent of the uranium-235. The results of the postirradiation examination indicated: (1) A transverse, intergranular failure of the fuelpin occurred when the fuelpin reached 2.0-percent burnup. This corresponds to 1330 kW-hr/cu cm, where the volume is the sum of the fuel, clad, and void volumes in the fuel region. (2) The maximum swelling of the fuelpin was less than 1.5 percent on the fuel-pin diameter. (3) There was no visible interaction between the TZM clad and the UO2. (4) Irradiation at 1700 K produced a course-grained structure, with an average grain diameter of 0.02 centimeter and with some of the grains extending one-half of the thickness of the clad. (5) Below approximately 1500 K, the irradiation of the clad produced a moderately fine-grained structure, with an average grain diameter of 0.004 centimeter.

The PFR/TREAT safety testing programme involves the transient testing of fresh and pre-irradiated UK and US fuelpins. This paper summarizes the experimental and calculational results obtained to date on fuelpin failure during transient overpower (resulting from an accidental addition of resolivity) and transient undercooling followed by overpower (arising from an accidental stoppage of the primary sodium circulating pumps) accidents. Companion papers at this conference address: (I) the progress and future plans of the programme, and (II) post-failure material movements.

Abstract The IFA-597 (Integrated Fuel Assessment) experiments from the International Fuel Performance Experiments (IFPE) database were designed to study the thermal behavior of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and the effects of an annulus on fission gas release in light-water-reactor fuel. An evaluation of nuclearfuelpin heat transfer in the FRAPCON-3.4 and Exnihilo codes for MOX fuel systems was performed, with a focus on the first 20 time steps ( 6 GWd/MT(iHM)) for explicit comparison between the codes. In addition, sensitivity studies were performed to evaluate the effect of the radial power shape and approximations to the geometry to account for the thermocouple hole, dish, and chamfer. The analysis demonstrated relative agreement for both solid (rod 1) and annular (rod 2) fuel in the experiment, demonstrating the accuracy of the codes and their underlying material models for MOX fuel, while also revealing a small energy loss artifact in how gap conductance is currently handled in Exnihilo for chamfered fuel pellets. The within-pellet power shape was shown to significantly impact the predicted centerline temperatures. This has provided an initial benchmarking of the pin heat transfer capability of Exnihilo for MOX fuel with respect to a well-validated nuclearfuel performance code.

The IDENT 1578 container, which is a 110-in. long 5.5-in. OD tube, is designed for shipping FFTF fuel elements in T-3 casks between HEDL, HFEF, and other laboratories. The thermal analysis was conducted to evaluate whether or not the container satisfies its thermal design criteria (handle a decay heat load of 600 watts, max fuelpin cladding temperature not exceeding 800/sup 0/F).

A model was developed to predict fission gas releases from UN fuelpins clad with various materials. The model was correlated with total release data obtained by different experimentors, over a range of fuel temperatures primarily between 1250 and 1660 K, and fuel burnups up to 4.6 percent. In the model, fission gas is transported by diffusion mechanisms to the grain boundaries where the volume grows and eventually interconnects with the outside surface of the fuel. The within grain diffusion coefficients are found from fission gas release rate data obtained using a sweep gas facility.

The examination of 27 fuelpins irradiated for up to 13,000 hours at 990 C is described. The fuelpin clad was a tantalum alloy with uranium nitride as the nuclearfuel. Two nominal fuelpin diameters were tested with a maximum burnup of 2.34 atom percent. Twenty-two fuelpins were tested for fission gas leaks; thirteen pins leaked. Clad ductility tests indicated clad embrittlement. The embrittlement is attributed to hydrogen from an n,p reaction in the fuel. Fuel swelling was burnup dependent, and the amount of fission gas release was low, generally less than 0.5 percent. No incompatibilities between fuel, liner, and clad were in evidence.

This paper describes a point design for a pin-type Gas-Cooled Reactor concept that uses a fuelpin design similar to the SP100 fuelpin. The Gas-Cooled Reactor is designed to operate at 100 kWe for 7 years plus have a reduced power mode of 20% power for a duration of 5 years. The power system uses a gas-cooled, UN-fueled, pin-type reactor to heat He/Xe gas that flows directly into a recuperated Brayton system to produce electricity. Heat is rejected to space via a thermal radiator that unfolds in space. The reactor contains approximately 154 kg of 93.15 % enriched UN in 313 fuelpins. The fuel is clad with rhenium-lined Nb-1Zr. The pressures vessel and ducting are cooled by the 900 K He/Xe gas inlet flow or by thermal radiation. This permits all pressure boundaries to be made of superalloy metals rather than refractory metals, which greatly reduces the cost and development schedule required by the project. The reactor contains sufficient rhenium (a neutron poison) to make the reactor subcritical under water immersion accidents without the use of internal shutdown rods. The mass of the reactor and reflectors is about 750 kg.

Americium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like {sup 241}Am is, therefore, an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity and residual power packages as well as the repository area. In the SUPERFACT Experiment four different oxide fuels containing high and low concentrations of {sup 237}Np and {sup 241}Am, representing the homogeneous and heterogeneous in-pile recycling concepts, were irradiated in the PHENIX reactor. The behavior of advanced fuel materials with minor actinide needs to be fully characterized, understood and modeled in order to optimize the design of this kind of fuel elements and to evaluate its performances. This paper assesses the current predictability of fuel performance codes TRANSURANUS and GERMINAL V2 on the basis of post irradiation examinations of the SUPERFACT experiment for pins with low minor actinide content. Their predictions have been compared to measured data in terms of geometrical changes of fuel and cladding, fission gases behavior and actinide and fission product distributions. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results, although improvements are also pointed out for further studies, especially if larger content of minor actinide will be taken into account in the codes. (authors)

In searching for the reasons behind the PCI failures of LWR fuelpins two questions have obviously remained unanswered: (a) what is the iodine potential necessary to cause SCC of zircaloy, and (b) is this iodine potential available in a fuelpin. To answer these two questions, a consistent set of thermochemical data for the Zr-I system was created, the results of laboratory tests of iodine-induced SCC of zircaloy were evaluated, and, finally, equilibrium calculations for the fuel-fission-product system were performed to determine the temperature and oxygen potential required to produce an iodine potential high enough to cause SCC of zircaloy. The conclusion of this study is that SCC of zircaloy can be caused by an iodine potential equal to or greater than that needed to form ZrI with metallic zirconium. This iodine potential is available in an LWR fuelpin at oxygen potentials corresponding to stoichiometric fuel. The carrier of the potential, i.e. The attacking species, is CsI.

This research is based on the concept that the diversion of nuclearfuelpins from Light Water Reactor (LWR) spent fuel assemblies is feasible by a careful comparison of spontaneous fission neutron and gamma levels in the guide tube locations of the fuel assemblies. The goal is to be able to determine whether some of the assembly fuelpins are either missing or have been replaced with dummy or fresh fuelpins. It is known that for typical commercial power spent fuel assemblies, the dominant spontaneous neutron emissions come from Cm-242 and Cm-244. Because of the shorter half-life of Cm-242 (0.45 yr) relative to that of Cm-244 (18.1 yr), Cm-244 is practically the only neutron source contributing to the neutron source term after the spent fuel assemblies are more than two years old. Initially, this research focused upon developing MCNP5 models of PWR fuel assemblies, modeling their depletion using the MONTEBURNS code, and by carrying out a preliminary depletion of a ¼ model 17x17 assembly from the TAKAHAMA-3 PWR. Later, the depletion and more accurate isotopic distribution in the pins at discharge was modeled using the TRITON depletion module of the SCALE computer code. Benchmarking comparisons were performed with the MONTEBURNS and TRITON results. Subsequently, the neutron flux in each of the guide tubes of the TAKAHAMA-3 PWR assembly at two years after discharge as calculated by the MCNP5 computer code was determined for various scenarios. Cases were considered for all spent fuelpins present and for replacement of a single pin at a position near the center of the assembly (10,9) and at the corner (17,1). Some scenarios were duplicated with a gamma flux calculation for high energies associated with Cm-244. For each case, the difference between the flux (neutron or gamma) for all spent fuelpins and with a pin removed or replaced is calculated for each guide tube. Different detection criteria were established. The first was whether the relative error of the

A method is described for producing tritium in a fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid metal. Lithium target material is placed in pins adjacent to fuelpins in order to increase the tritium production rate.

The IFA-432 (Integrated Fuel Assessment) experiments from the International Fuel Performance Experiments (IFPE) database were designed to study the effects of gap size, fuel density, and fuel densification on fuel centerline temperature in light-water-reactor fuel. An evaluation of nuclearfuelpin heat transfer in the FRAPCON-3.4 and Exnihilo codes for uranium dioxide (UO$_2$) fuel systems was performed, with a focus on the densification stage (2.2 \\unitfrac{GWd}{MT(UO$_{2}$)}). In addition, sensitivity studies were performed to evaluate the effect of the radial power shape and approximations to the geometry to account for the thermocouple hole. The analysis demonstrated excellent agreement for rods 1, 2, 3, and 5 (varying gap thicknesses and density with traditional fuel), demonstrating the accuracy of the codes and their underlying material models for traditional fuel. For rod 6, which contained unstable fuel that densified an order of magnitude more than traditional, stable fuel, the magnitude of densification was over-predicted and the temperatures were outside of the experimental uncertainty. The radial power shape within the fuel was shown to significantly impact the predicted centerline temperatures, whereas modeling the fuel at the thermocouple location as either annular or solid was relatively negligible. This has provided an initial benchmarking of the pin heat transfer capability of Exnihilo for UO$_2$ fuel with respect to a well-validated nuclearfuel performance code.

A series of critical experiments was completed with mixed plutonium-uranium solutions having a Pu/(Pu + U) ratio of approximately 0.22 in a boiler tube-type lattice assembly. These experiments were conducted as part of the Criticality Data Development Program between the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) and the Power Reactor and NuclearFuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan. A complete description of the experiments and data are included in this report. The experiments were performed with an array of mixed oxide fuelpins in aqueous plutonium-uranium solutions. The fuelpins were contained in a boiler tube-type tank and arranged in a 1.4 cm square pitch array which resembled cylindrical geometry. One experiment was perfomed with the fuelpins removed from the vessel. The experiments were performed with a water reflector. The concentration of the solutions in the boiler tube-type tank was varied from 4 to 468 g (Pu + U)/liter. The ratio of plutonium to total heavy metal (plutonium plus uranium) was approximately 0.22 for all experiments.

A FORTRAN-4 computer program for handling fuelpin data is described. Its main features include standardized output, easy access for data manipulation, and tabulation of important material property data. An additional feature allows simplified preparation of input decks for a fuel swelling computer code (CYGRO-2). Data from over 300 high temperature nitride and carbide based fuelpin irradiations are listed.

A method and apparatus are described for shearing spent nuclearfuel assemblies of the type comprising an array of fuelpins disposed within an outer metal shell or shroud. A spent fuel assembly is first compacted in a known manner and then incrementally sheared using fixed and movable shear blades having matched laterally projecting teeth which slidably intermesh to provide the desired shearing action. Incremental advancement of the fuel assembly after each shear cycle is limited to a distance corresponding to the lateral projection of the teeth to ensure fuel assembly breakup into small uniform segments which are amenable to remote chemical processing.

A nuclearfuel cell for use in a thermionic nuclear reactor in which a small conduit extends from the outside surface of the emitter to the center of the fuel mass of the emitter body to permit escape of volatile and gaseous fission products collected in the center thereof by virtue of molecular migration of the gases to the hotter region of the fuel.

Extensive sodium boiling tests have been carried out in two simulated LMFBR fuelpin bundles in the Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety (THORS) Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Experimental results from a 19-pin bundle (THORS Bundle 6A) have been previously reported, and experimental results from a 61-pin bundle (THORS Bundle 9) will be reported soon. The results discussed here are from the 19-pin bundle. Preliminary analysis has shown that the computational methods used and conclusions reached are equally valid for the 61-pin bundle, as well as the 19-pin in-reactor Sodium Loop Safety Facility (SLSF) W-1 experiment. The main result of THORS sodium boiling experimentation is that boiling behavior is determined by two-dimensional effects, i.e., the rates of mass, momentum and energy transfer in the direction perpendicular to the axes of the fuelpins.

Critical experiments have been conducted with organic-moderated mixed oxide (MOX) fuelpin assemblies at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) Critical Mass Laboratory (CML). These experiments are part of a joint exchange program between the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) and the Power Reactor and NuclearFuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan in the area of criticality data development. The purpose of these experiments is to benchmark computer codes and cross-section libraries and to assess the reactivity difference between systems moderated by water and those moderated by an organic solution. Past studies have indicated that some organic mixtures may be better moderators than water. This topic is of particular importance to the criticality safety of fuel processing plants where fissile material is dissolved in organic solutions during the solvent extraction process. In the past, it has been assumed that the codes and libraries benchmarked with water-moderated experiments were adequate when performing design and licensing studies of organic-moderated systems. Calculations presented in this paper indicated that the SCALE code system and the 27-energy-group cross-section accurately compute k-effectives for organic moderated MOX fuel-pin assemblies. Furthermore, the reactivity of an organic solution with a 32-vol-% TBP/68-vol-% NPH mixture in a heterogeneous configuration is the same, for practical purposes, as water. 5 refs.

This patent describes a pin-insertion/torque tool for the replacement of old split-pin assemblies. Each of the new split-pin assemblies including a new split-pin having times and a new nut for securing the new split pin in the guide tube, a new nut being inserted in the guide tube in position to receive a split pin. The the pin-insertion/torque tool including a blade means for engaging a new split pin with the blade with the tines of the new split pins straddling the blade, means, connected to the blade, for advancing the split-pin into the guide tube into threading engagement with the new nut positioned to receive a new split pin and means, to be connected to the nut for securing the new nut onto the new split pin while the split pin is engaged by the blade.

Thermal analysis of a pin from the FSP-1 fuels irradiation test has been completed. The purpose of the analysis was to provide predictions of fuelpin temperatures, determine the flow regime within the lithium annulus of the test assembly, and provide a standardized model for a consistent basis of comparison between pins within the test assembly. The calculations have predicted that the pin is operating at slightly above the test design temperatures and that the flow regime within the lithium annulus is a laminar buoyancy driven flow.

Pin power peaking in a VVER-1000 fuel assembly and its sensitivity and uncertainty was analyzed by TSUNAMI-2D code. Several types of fuel assemblies were considered. They differ in number and position of gadolinium fuelpins. The calculations were repeated for several fuel compositions obtained by fuel depletion calculation. The results are quantified sensitivity data, which can be used for enrichment profiling.

The costs for the back-end of the nuclearfuel cycle, which were developed as part of the Nonproliferation Alternative Systems Assessment Program (NASAP), are presented. Total fuel cycle costs are given for the pressurized water reactor once-through and fuel recycle systems, and for the liquid-metal fast breeder reactor system. These calculations show that fuel cycle costs are a small part of the total power costs. For breeder reactors, fuel cycle costs are about half that of the present once-through system. The total power cost of the breeder reactor system is greater than that of light-water reactor at today's prices for uranium and enrichment.

This is an a submission for the Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technology on the subject of Reprocessing Spent NuclearFuel. No formal abstract was required for the article. The full article will be attached.

A nuclearfuel element and a method of manufacturing the element. The fuel element is comprised of a metal primary container and a fuel pellet which is located inside it and which is often fragmented. The primary container is subjected to elevated pressure and temperature to deform the container such that the container conforms to the fuel pellet, that is, such that the container is in substantial contact with the surface of the pellet. This conformance eliminates clearances which permit rubbing together of fuel pellet fragments and rubbing of fuel pellet fragments against the container, thus reducing the amount of dust inside the fuel container and the amount of dust which may escape in the event of container breach. Also, as a result of the inventive method, fuel pellet fragments tend to adhere to one another to form a coherent non-fragmented mass; this reduces the tendency of a fragment to pierce the container in the event of impact.

The computer code TEMP calculates fuelpin temperatures during a transient. It was developed to accommodate temperature calculations in any system of axi-symmetric concentric cylinders. When used to calculate fuelpin temperatures, the code will handle a fuelpin as simple as a solid cylinder or as complex as a central void surrounded by fuel that is broken into three regions by two circumferential cracks. Any fuel situation between these two extremes can be analyzed along with additional cladding, heat sink, coolant or capsule regions surrounding the fuel. The one-region version of the code accurately calculates the solution to two problems having closed-form solutions. The code uses an implicit method, an explicit method and a Crank-Nicolson (implicit-explicit) method.

A nuclearfuel element wherein a tubular cladding of zirconium or a zirconium alloy has a fission gas plenum chamber which is held against collapse by the loops of a spacer in the form of a tube which has been deformed inwardly at three equally spaced, circumferential positions to provide three loops. A heat resistant disc of, say, graphite separates nuclearfuel pellets within the cladding from the plenum chamber. The spacer is of zirconium or a zirconium alloy.

Most pin type reactor designs for space power or terrestrial applications group the fuelpins into a number of relatively large fuelpin bundles or subassemblies. Fuel bundles for terrestrial liquid metal fast breeders reactors typically use 217 - 271 pins per sub-assembly, while some SP100 designs use up to 331 pins in a central subassembly that was surrounded by partial assemblies. Because thermal creep is exponentially related to temperature, small changes in fuelpin cladding temperature can make large differences in the lifetime in a high temperature liquid metal reactor (LMR). This paper uses the COBRA-IV-I computer code to determine the temperature distribution within LMR fuel bundles. COBRA-IV-I uses the sub-channel analysis approach to determine the enthalpy (or temperature) and flow distribution in rod bundles for both steady-state and transient conditions. The COBRA code runs in only a few seconds and has been benchmarked and tested extensively over a wide range of flow conditions. In this report the flow and temperature distributions for two types of lithium cooled space reactor core designs were calculated. One design uses a very tight fuelpin packing that has a pitch to diameter ratio of 1.05 (small wire wrap with a diameter of 392 μm) as proposed in SP100. The other design uses a larger pitch to diameter ratio of 1.09 with a larger more conventional sized wire wrap diameter of 1 mm. The results of the COBRA pin bundle calculations show that the larger pitch-to-diameter fuel bundle designs are more tolerant to local flow blockages, and in addition they are less sensitive to mal-flow distributions that occur near the edges of the subassembly.

Most pin type reactor designs for space power or terrestrial applications group the fuelpins into a number of relatively large fuelpin bundles or subassemblies. Fuel bundles for terrestrial liquid metal fast breeders reactors typically use 217 - 271 pins per sub-assembly, while some SP100 designs use up to 331 pins in a central subassembly that was surrounded by partial assemblies. Because thermal creep is exponentially related to temperature, small changes in fuelpin cladding temperature can make large differences in the lifetime in a high temperature liquid metal reactor (LMR). This paper uses the COBRA-IV-I computer code to determine the temperature distribution within LMR fuel bundles. COBRA-IV-I uses the sub-channel analysis approach to determine the enthalpy (or temperature) and flow distribution in rod bundles for both steady-state and transient conditions. The COBRA code runs in only a few seconds and has been benchmarked and tested extensively over a wide range of flow conditions. In this report the flow and temperature distributions for two types of lithium cooled space reactor core designs were calculated. One design uses a very tight fuelpin packing that has a pitch to diameter ratio of 1.05 (small wire wrap with a diameter of 392 {mu}m) as proposed in SP100. The other design uses a larger pitch to diameter ratio of 1.09 with a larger more conventional sized wire wrap diameter of 1 mm. The results of the COBRA pin bundle calculations show that the larger pitch-to-diameter fuel bundle designs are more tolerant to local flow blockages, and in addition they are less sensitive to mal-flow distributions that occur near the edges of the subassembly.

Pulsed neutron interrogation measurements have been performed on highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide fuelpins and depleted uranium (DU) metal using a D-D neutron generator (2x10{sup 6} neutrons-s{sup -1}) and moderated {sup 3}He tubes at the Idaho National Laboratory Power Burst Facility. These measurements demonstrate the ability to distinguish HEU from DU by coincidence counting using a pulsed source. The amount of HEU measured was 8 kg in a sealed 55-gallon drum compared to 31 kg of DU. Neutron events were counted during and after the pulse with the Nuclear Materials Identification System (NMIS) and used to calculate the neutron coincidence time distributions. Passive measurements were also performed for comparison with the pulsed measurements. This paper presents the neutron coincidence time distribution and Feynman variance results from the measurements.

Pulsed neutron interrogation measurements have been performed on highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide fuelpins and depleted uranium (DU) metal using a D-D neutron generator (2 x 10{sup 6} neutrons-s{sup -1}) and moderated {sup 3}He tubes at the Idaho National Laboratory Power Burst Facility. These measurements demonstrate the ability to distinguish HEU from DU by coincidence counting using a pulsed source. The amount of HEU measured was 8 kg in a sealed 55-gallon drum compared to 31 kg of DU. Neutron events were counted during and after the pulse with the Nuclear Materials Identification System (NMIS) and used to calculate the neutron coincidence time distributions. Passive measurements were also performed for comparison with the pulsed measurements. This paper presents the neutron coincidence distribution and Feynman variance results from the measurements.

Pulsed neutron interrogation measurements have been performed on highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide fuelpins and depleted uranium (DU) metal using a D-D neutron generator (2×106 neutrons-s-1) and moderated 3He tubes at the Idaho National Laboratory Power Burst Facility. These measurements demonstrate the ability to distinguish HEU from DU by coincidence counting using a pulsed source. The amount of HEU measured was 8 kg in a sealed 55-gallon drum compared to 31 kg of DU. Neutron events were counted during and after the pulse with the Nuclear Materials Identification System (NMIS) and used to calculate the neutron coincidence time distributions. Passive measurements were also performed for comparison with the pulsed measurements. This paper presents the neutron coincidence time distribution and Feynman variance results from the measurements.

To analyze the wire-wrapped fast breeder reactor fuelpin bundle deformation under bundle/duct interaction conditions, the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute has developed the BAMBOO computer code. This code uses the three-dimensional beam element to calculate fuelpin bowing and cladding oval distortion as the primary deformation mechanisms in a fuelpin bundle. The pin dispersion, which is disarrangement of pins in a bundle and would occur during irradiation, was modeled in this code to evaluate its effect on bundle deformation. By applying the contact analysis method commonly used in the finite element method, this model considers the contact conditions at various axial positions as well as the nodal points and can analyze the irregular arrangement of fuelpins with the deviation of the wire configuration.The dispersion model was introduced in the BAMBOO code and verified by using the results of the out-of-pile compression test of the bundle, where the dispersion was caused by the deviation of the wire position. And the effect of the dispersion on the bundle deformation was evaluated based on the analysis results of the code.

A method is described whereby fuel tubes or pins are cut, loaded with fuel pellets and a heat transfer medium, sealed at each end with slotted fittings, and assembled into a rectangular tube bundle to form a fuel element. The tubes comprising the fuel element are laterally connected between their ends by clips and tabs to form a linear group of spaced parallel tubes, which receive their vertical support by resting on a grid. The advantages of this method are that it permits elimination of structural material (e.g., fuel-element cans) within the reactor core, and removal of at least one fuelpin from an element and replacement thereof so that a burnable poison may be utilized during the core lifetime. (AEC)

An improved method is given for making the carbides of nuclearfuel material. The metal of the fuel material, which may be a fissile and/or fertile material, is transformed into a silicide, after which the silicide is comminuted to the desired particle size. This silicide is then carburized at an elevated temperature, either above or below the melting point of the silicide, to produce an intimate mixture of the carbide of the fuel material and the carbide of silicon. This mixture of the fuel material carbide and the silicon carbide is relatively stable in the presence of moisture and does not exhibit the highly reactive surface condition which is observed with fuel material carbides made by most other known methods. (AEC)

These slides will be presented at the training course “International Training Course on Implementing State Systems of Accounting for and Control (SSAC) of Nuclear Material for States with Small Quantity Protocols (SQP),” on November 3-7, 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The slides provide a basic overview of the NuclearFuel Cycle. This is a joint training course provided by NNSA and IAEA.

Reprocessing is essential to closing nuclearfuel cycle. Natural uranium contains only 0.7 percent 235U, the fissile (see glossary for technical terms) isotope that produces most of the fission energy in a nuclear power plant. Prior to being used in commercial nuclearfuel, uranium is typically enriched to 3–5% in 235U. If the enrichment process discards depleted uranium at 0.2 percent 235U, it takes more than seven tonnes of uranium feed to produce one tonne of 4%-enriched uranium. Nuclearfuel discharged at the end of its economic lifetime contains less one percent 235U, but still more than the natural ore. Less than one percent of the uranium that enters the fuel cycle is actually used in a single pass through the reactor. The other naturally occurring isotope, 238U, directly contributes in a minor way to power generation. However, its main role is to transmute into plutoniumby neutron capture and subsequent radioactive decay of unstable uraniumand neptuniumisotopes. 239Pu and 241Pu are fissile isotopes that produce more than 40% of the fission energy in commercially deployed reactors. It is recovery of the plutonium (and to a lesser extent the uranium) for use in recycled nuclearfuel that has been the primary focus of commercial reprocessing. Uraniumtargets irradiated in special purpose reactors are also reprocessed to obtain the fission product 99Mo, the parent isotope of technetium, which is widely used inmedical procedures. Among the fission products, recovery of such expensive metals as platinum and rhodium is technically achievable, but not economically viable in current market and regulatory conditions. During the past 60 years, many different techniques for reprocessing used nuclearfuel have been proposed and tested in the laboratory. However, commercial reprocessing has been implemented along a single line of aqueous solvent extraction technology called plutonium uranium reduction extraction process (PUREX). Similarly, hundreds of types of reactor

This overview of the nuclearfuel cycle is divided into three parts. First, is a brief discussion of the basic principles of how nuclear reactors work; second, is a look at the major types of nuclear reactors being used and world-wide nuclear capacity; and third, is an overview of the nuclearfuel cycle and the present industrial capability in the US.

A novel reactor composition for use in a self-sustaining fast nuclear reactor is described. More particularly, a fuel alloy comprising thorium and uranium-235 is de scribed, the uranium-235 existing in approximately the same amount that it is found in natural uranium, i.e., 1.4%.

A computerized control system has been developed for the remotely-operated fuelpin processor used in the Integral Fast Reactor Program, Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF). The pin processor remotely shears cast EBR- reactor fuelpins to length, inspects them for diameter, straightness, length, and weight, and then inserts acceptable pins into new sodium-loaded stainless-steel fuel element jackets. Two main components comprise the control system: (1) a programmable logic controller (PLC), together with various input/output modules and associated relay ladder-logic associated computer software. The PLC system controls the remote operation of the machine as directed by the OCS, and also monitors the machine operation to make operational data available to the OCS. The OCS allows operator control of the machine, provides nearly real-time viewing of the operational data, allows on-line changes of machine operational parameters, and records the collected data for each acceptable pin on a central data archiving computer. The two main components of the control system provide the operator with various levels of control ranging from manual operation to completely automatic operation by means of a graphic touch screen interface.

A computerized control system has been developed for the remotely-operated fuelpin processor used in the Integral Fast Reactor Program, Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF). The pin processor remotely shears cast EBR- reactor fuelpins to length, inspects them for diameter, straightness, length, and weight, and then inserts acceptable pins into new sodium-loaded stainless-steel fuel element jackets. Two main components comprise the control system: (1) a programmable logic controller (PLC), together with various input/output modules and associated relay ladder-logic associated computer software. The PLC system controls the remote operation of the machine as directed by the OCS, and also monitors the machine operation to make operational data available to the OCS. The OCS allows operator control of the machine, provides nearly real-time viewing of the operational data, allows on-line changes of machine operational parameters, and records the collected data for each acceptable pin on a central data archiving computer. The two main components of the control system provide the operator with various levels of control ranging from manual operation to completely automatic operation by means of a graphic touch screen interface.

The steady-state and transient effects of intrinxic geometric and material property differences between typical nuclearfuelpins and electric fuelpin simulators (FPSs) are identified. The effectiveness of varying the transient power supplied to the FPS in reducing the differences between the transient responses of nuclearfuelpins and FPSs is investigated. This effectiveness is shown to be limited by the heat capacity of the FPS, the allowed range of the power program, and different FPS power requirements at different positions on a full-length FPS.

A nuclearfuel element for use in the core of a nuclear reactor is disclosed and has an improved composite cladding comprised of a moderate purity metal barrier of zirconium metallurgically bonded on the inside surface of a zirconium alloy tube. The metal barrier forms a shield between the alloy tube and a core of nuclearfuel material enclosed in the composite cladding. There is a gap between the cladding and the core. The metal barrier forms about 1 to about 30 percent of the thickness of the composite cladding and has low neutron absorption characteristics. The metal barrier serves as a preferential reaction site for gaseous impurities and fission products and protects the alloy tube from contact and reaction with such impurities and fission products. Methods of manufacturing the composite cladding are also disclosed.

A nuclearfuel element for use in the core of a nuclear reactor is disclosed and has a composite cladding having a substrate and a metal barrier metallurgically bonded on the inside surface of the substrate so that the metal barrier forms a shield between the substrate and the nuclearfuel material held within the cladding. The metal barrier forms about 1 to about 30 percent of the thickness of the cladding and is comprised of a low neutron absorption metal of substantially pure zirconium. The metal barrier serves as a preferential reaction site for gaseous impurities and fission products and protects the substrate from contact and reaction with such impurities and fission products. The substrate of the composite cladding is selected from conventional cladding materials and preferably is a zirconium alloy. Methods of manufacturing the composite cladding are also disclosed.

A nuclear reactor fuel element is described which has an outer cladding, a central core of fissionable or mixed fissionable and fertile fuel material and a layer of oxygen gettering material on the inner surface of the cladding. The gettering material reacts with oxygen released by the fissionable material during irradiation of the core thereby preventing the oxygen from reacting with and corroding the cladding. Also described is an improved method for coating the inner surface of the cladding with a layer of gettering material.

A fuel-breeder fuel element was developed for a nuclear reactor wherein discrete particles of fissionable material are dispersed in a matrix of fertile breeder material. The fuel element combines the advantages of a dispersion type and a breeder-type. (AEC)

The present invention relates to a nuclearfuel electrorefiner having a vessel containing a molten electrolyte pool floating on top of a cadmium pool. An anodic fuel dissolution basket and a high-efficiency cathode are suspended in the molten electrolyte pool. A shroud surrounds the fuel dissolution basket and the shroud is positioned so as to separate the electrolyte pool into an isolated electrolyte pool within the shroud and a bulk electrolyte pool outside the shroud. In operation, unwanted noble-metal fission products migrate downward into the cadmium pool and form precipitates where they are removed by a filter and separator assembly. Uranium values are transported by the cadmium pool from the isolated electrolyte pool to the bulk electrolyte pool, and then pass to the high-efficiency cathode where they are electrolytically deposited thereto.

This report documents the review of the Fluor Submittal (hereafter, the Submittal), prepared by Savannah River Packaging Technology (SRPT) of Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), at the request of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Richland Operations Office, for the shipment of unirradiated and irradiated sodium-bonded carbide fuelpins. The sodium-bonded carbide fuelpins are currently stored at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) awaiting shipment to Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Normally, modified contents are included into the next revision of the SARP. However, the contents, identified to be shipped from FFTF to Idaho National Laboratory, are a one-way shipment of 18 irradiated fuelpins and 7 unirradiated fuelpins, where the irradiated and unirradiated fuelpins are shipped separately, and can be authorized with a letter amendment to the existing Certificate of Compliance (CoC).

The fuelpin design for the SP-100 reactor uses uranium nitride fuel contained in a niobium alloy (Nb-1Zr) cladding. Chemical reactions occur between the fuel and the cladding at the planned operating temperatures of 1350 to 1500 K, so a diffusion barrier is required to prevent degradation. The technology associated with diffusion barriers in similar fuelpins is reviewed to identify fabrication techniques and to summarize previous results of chemical compatibility and irradiation tests. Four fabrication techniques were identified. In previous tests, diffusion barriers have performed successfully for up to 12,000 h at cladding temperatures near 1300 K. A significant challenge remains to develop and qualify a diffusion barrier for the SP-100 mission application, which has a lifetime greater than 60,000 h.

Fuel irradiation experiments were designed, built, and operated to test uranium mononitride (UN) fuel clad in tungsten-lined T-111 and uranium dioxide fuel clad in both tungsten-lined T-111 and tungsten-lined Nb-1% Zr. A total of nine fuelpins was irradiated at average cladding temperatures ranging from 931 to 1015 C. The UN experiments, capsules UN-4 and -5, operated for 10,480 and 10,037 hr, respectively, at an average linear heat generation rate of 10 kW/ft. The UO2 experiment, capsule UN-6, operated for 8333 hr at an average linear heat generation rate of approximately 5 kW/ft. Following irradiation, the nine fuelpins were removed from their capsules, externally examined, and sent to the NASA Plum Brook Facility for more detailed postirradiation examination. During visual examination, it was discovered that the cladding of the fuelpin containing dense UN in each of capsules UN-4 and -5 had failed, exposing the UN fuel to the NaK in which the pins were submerged and permitting the release of fission gas from the failed pins. A rough analysis of the fission gas seen in samples of the gas in the fuelpin region indicated fission gas release-to-birth rates from these fuelpins in the range of .00001.

A tool is described for removing from anchor bores in the upper core plate of a nuclear reactor vessel, anchor pin remnants which may be broken from guide tube assemblies upon withdrawal thereof from large seating apertures adjacent to the anchor bores in the upper core plate, the tool comprising: support means dimensioned to fit through a seating aperture, a pin driving member carried by the support means, means for lowering the support means through a seating aperture to a use position beneath the upper core plate with the pin driving member in registry with an adjacent anchor bore, and motive means for moving the pin driving member upwardly into the anchor bore to drive the anchor pin remnant therefrom.

Experiments with fresh PWR fuel assemblies were performed to assess the {sup 252}Cf-source-driven frequency analysis method for measuring the subcriticality of spent fuel. The measurements at the Babcox and Wilcox Critical Experiments Facility mocked up between 17x17 fuelpins (single assembly) and a full array of 4961 fuelpins (about 17 fuel assemblies) in borated water with a fixed B concentration. For the full array, the B content of the water was varied from 1511 at delayed criticality to 4303 ppM. Measurements were done for various source-detector-fuelpin configurations; they showed high sensitivity of frequency analysis parameters to B content and fissile mass. Parameters such as auto and cross power spectral densities can be calculated directly by a more general model of the Monte Carlo code (MCNP-DSP). Calculation-measurement comparisons are presented. This model permits the validation of neutron and gamma ray transport calculational methods with subcritical measurements using the {sup 252}Cf-source-driven frequency analysis method.

The Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) is one of six systems selected for viability assessment in the Generation IV program. It features a closed nuclearfuel cycle, consisting of a high-temperature helium-cooled fast spectrum reactor, coupled to a direct-cycle helium turbine for electricity production. The GFR combines the advances of fast spectrum systems with those of high-temperature systems. It was clear from the very beginning that GFR design should be driven by the objective to offer a complementary approach to liquid metal cooling. On this basis, CEA and the US DOE decided to collaborate on the pre-conceptual design of a GFR. This reactor design will provide a high level of safety and full recycling of the actinides, and will also be highly proliferation resistant and economically attractive. The status of this collaborative project is that two unit sizes, 600 MWt and 2400 MWt were selected as the focus of the design and safety studies. Researchers studied fuel forms, fuel assembly/element designs, core configurations, primary and balance-of-plant layouts, and safety approaches for both of these unit sizes. Results regarding the feasibility of this GFR design are encouraging. For example, sustainability and non-proliferation goals can be met and the proposed concept has attractive safety features. These features take advantage of the helium in terms of its neutronic quasi-transparency as well as the enhanced Doppler effect in connection with candidate fuel and structural materials. The current design trend is to consider high unit power for the GFR (2400 MWt), an attractive level for the power density (100 MW/m{sup 3}), and the implementation of an innovative plate type fuel or pin type sub-assembly with carbide-based actinide compounds and SiC-based structural materials. Work is still needed to refine the safety approach, to select the main system options, and to more definitively establish economic parameters.

A nuclearfuel according to one embodiment includes an assembly of nuclearfuel particles; and continuous open channels defined between at least some of the nuclearfuel particles, wherein the channels are characterized as allowing fission gasses produced in an interior of the assembly to escape from the interior of the assembly to an exterior thereof without causing significant swelling of the assembly. Additional embodiments, including methods, are also presented.

Fuel motions during the early stages of failure were determined for the seven multi-pin PFR/TREAT tests from an integrated analysis of data from the Fast Neutron Hodoscope and the loop instrumentation. It was observed that motion in TUCOP simulations is in two stages; an initial slow movement at failure followed by abrupt dispersal. It was also found that axial movement of fresh fuel begins promptly at initial failure but that pre-irradiated fuel motion is delayed by 15 ms in both TOP and TUCOP simulations.

The study evaluates the possible use of graphite foam as the bonding material between U-Pu-Zr metallic fuel and steel clad for sodium fast reactor applications using FEAST-METAL fuel performance code. Furthermore, the applicability of FEAST-METAL to the advanced fuel designs is demonstrated. Replacing the sodium bond with a chemically stable foam material would eliminate fuel clad metallurgical interactions, and allow for fuel swelling under low external stress. Hence, a significant improvement is expected for the steady state and transient performance. FEAST-METAL was used to assess the thermo-mechanical behavior of the new fuel form and a reference metallic fuelpin. Nearly unity conversion ratio, 75% smear density U-15Pu-6Zr metallic fuelpin with sodium bond, and T91 cladding was selected as a reference case. It was found that operating the reference case at high clad temperatures (600-660 °C) results in (1) excessive clad wastage formation/clad thinning due to lanthanide migration and formation of brittle phases at clad inner surface, and (2) excessive clad hoop strain at the upper axial section due mainly to the occurrence of thermal creep. The combination of these two factors may lead to cladding breach. The work concludes that replacing the sodium bond with 80% porous graphite foam and reducing the fuel smear density to 70%, it is likely that the fuel clad metallurgical interaction would be eliminated while the fuel swelling is allowed without excessive fuel clad mechanical interaction. The suggested design appears as an alternative for a high performance metallic fuel design for sodium fast reactors.

The relations between clad creep strain and fuel volume swelling are shown for cylindrical UO2 fuelpins with a Nb-1Zr clad. These relations were obtained by using the computer code CYGRO-2. These clad-strain - fuel-volume-swelling relations may be used with any fuel-volume-swelling model, provided the fuel volume swelling is isotropic and independent of the clad restraints. The effects of clad temperature (over a range from 118 to 1642 K (2010 to 2960 R)), pin diameter, clad thickness and central hole size in the fuel have been investigated. In all calculations the irradiation time was 500 hours. The burnup rate was varied.

A nuclearfuel includes uranium dispersed within a thorium hydride matrix. The uranium may be in the form of particles including fissile and non-fissile isotopes. Various hydrogen to thorium ratios may be included in the matrix. The matrix with the fissile dispersion may be used as a complete fuel for a metal hydride reactor or may be combined with other fuels.

A systematic evaluation has been conducted of the potential for advanced nuclearfuel cycle strategies and options to address the issues ascribed to the use of nuclear power. Issues included nuclear waste management, proliferation risk, safety, security, economics and affordability, and sustainability. The two basic strategies, once-through and recycle, and the range of possibilities within each strategy, are considered for all aspects of the fuel cycle including options for nuclear material irradiation, separations if needed, and disposal. Options range from incremental changes to today’s implementation to revolutionary concepts that would require the development of advanced nuclear technologies.

Heat Pipe Reactors (HPR) for space power conversion systems offer a number of advantages not easily provided by other systems. They require no pumping, their design easily deals with freezing and thawing of the liquid metal, and they can provide substantial levels of redundancy. Nevertheless, no reactor has ever been operated and cooled with heat pipes, and the startup and other operational characteristics of these systems remain largely unknown. Signification deviations from normal reactor heat removal mechanisms exist, because the heat pipes have fundamental heat removal limits due to sonic flow issues at low temperatures. This paper proposes an early prototypic test of a Heat Pipe Reactor (using existing 20% enriched nuclearfuelpins) to determine the operational characteristics of the HPR. The proposed design is similar in design to the HOMER and SAFE-300 HPR designs (Elliot, Lipinski, and Poston, 2003; Houts, et. al, 2003). However, this reactor uses existing UZrH fuelpins that are coupled to potassium heat pipes modules. The prototype reactor would be located in the Sandia Annular Core Research Reactor Facility where the fuelpins currently reside. The proposed reactor would use the heat pipes to transport the heat from the UZrH fuelpins to a water pool above the core, and the heat transport to the water pool would be controlled by adjusting the pressure and gas type within a small annulus around each heat pipe. The reactor would operate as a self-critical assembly at power levels up to 200 kWth. Because the nuclear heated HPR test uses existing fuel and because it would be performed in an existing facility with the appropriate safety authorization basis, the test could be performed rapidly and inexpensively. This approach makes it possible to validate the operation of a HPR and also measure the feedback mechanisms for a typical HPR design. A test of this nature would be the world's first operating Heat Pipe Reactor. This reactor is therefore called "HPR-1".

The C3M irradiation test, which was conducted in the experimental fast reactor, "Joyo", demonstrated that mixed oxide (MOX) fuelpins with austenitic steel cladding could attain a peak pellet burnup of about 130 GWd/t safely. The test fuel assembly consisted of 61 fuelpins, whose design specifications were similar to those of driver fuelpins of a prototype fast breeder reactor, "Monju". The irradiated fuelpins exhibited diametral strain due to cladding void swelling and irradiation creep. The cladding irradiation creep strain were due to the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) as well as the internal gas pressure. From the fuelpin ceramographs and 137Cs gamma scanning, it was found that the PCMI was associated with the pellet swelling which was enhanced by the rim structure formation or by cesium uranate formation. The PCMI due to cesium uranate, which occurred near the top of the MOX fuel column, significantly affected cladding hoop stress and thermal creep, and the latter effect tended to increase the cumulative damage fraction (CDF) of the cladding though the CDF indicated that the cladding still had some margin to failure due to the creep damage.

The present invention is directed to an electric cartridge-type heater for use as a simulator for a nuclearfuelpin in reactor studies. The heater comprises an elongated cylindrical housing containing a longitudinally extending helically wound heating element with the heating element radially inwardly separated from the housing. Crushed cold-pressed preforms of boron nitride electrically insulate the heating element from the housing while providing good thermal conductivity. Crushed cold-pressed preforms of magnesia or a magnesia-15 percent boron nitride mixture are disposed in the cavity of the helical heating element. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the magnesia or the magnesia-boron nitride mixture is higher than that of the boron nitride disposed about the heating element for urging the boron nitride radially outwardly against the housing during elevated temperatures to assure adequate thermal contact between the housing and the boron nitride.

The objective of safeguards is the timely detection of diversion of significant quantities of nuclear material from peaceful nuclear activities to the manufacture of nuclear weapons or of other nuclear explosive devices or for purposes unknown, and deterrence of such diversion by the risk of early detection. The safeguards system should be designed to provide credible assurances that there has been no diversion of declared nuclear material and no undeclared nuclear material and activities.

Typical nuclearfuel material contains tramp ferromagnetic particles of random size and distribution. Also, selected amounts of paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material can be added at random or at known positions in the fuel material. The fuel material in its nonmagnetic container can be scanned by magnetic susceptibility change detecting apparatus to provide a unique signal waveform of the container of fuel material as a signature thereof. At subsequent times in its life, the container similarly can be scanned to provide subsequent signatures. Comparison of the signatures reveals any alteration or tampering with the fuel material.

A reactor fuel element utilizing fissionable fuel materials in plate form is described. This fuel element consists of bundles of fuel-bearing plates. The bundles are stacked inside of a tube which forms the shell of the fuel element. The plates each have longitudinal fins running parallel to the direction of coolant flow, and interspersed among and parallel to the fins are ribs which position the plates relative to each other and to the fuel element shell. The plate bundles are held together by thin bands or wires. The ex tended surface increases the heat transfer capabilities of a fuel element by a factor of 3 or more over those of a simple flat plate.

A fuel element particularly adapted for use in nuclear reactors of high power density is offered. It has fissionable fuel pellet segments mounted in a tubular housing and defining a central passage in the fuel element. A burnable poison element extends through the central passage, which is designed to contain more poison material at the median portion than at the end portions thereby providing a more uniform hurnup and longer reactivity life.

The Hanford Spent NuclearFuel Project has been established to safely store spent nuclearfuel at the Hanford Site. This Project Management Plan sets forth the management basis for the Spent NuclearFuel Project. The plan applies to all fabrication and construction projects, operation of the Spent NuclearFuel Project facilities, and necessary engineering and management functions within the scope of the project

Temperature dependent properties make the transient thermal analysis of reactor fuelpins nonlinear. Traditionally, finite difference or finite element methods have been used to solve this system. An analytically based method is presented in which the transient temperature profiles are calculated using describing functions to characterize the system nonlinearities. In the past the describing functions approach has been used exclusively in the solution of ordinary differential equation systems. This study appears to be the first application of describing functions in the solution of partial differential equations.

The design and successful operation of three tantalum alloy (Ta-8W-2Hf) clad uranium mononitride (UN) fuelpins irradiated for 8070 hr at 990 C (1815 F) is described. Two pin diameters having measured burnups of 0.47 and 0.90 uranium atom percent were tested. No clad failures or swelling was detected; however, postirradiation clad samples tested failed with 1 percent strain. The fuel density decrease was 2 percent, and the fission gas release was less than 0.05 percent. Isotropic fuel swelling, which averaged about 0.5 percent, was less than fuelpin assembly clearances. Thus the clad was not strained. Thermocouples with a modified hot zone operated at average temperatures to 1100 C (2012 F) without failure. Factors that influence the ability to maintain uniform clad temperature as well as the results of the heat transfer calculations are discussed.

According to the author, the first sustained nuclear fission chain reaction was not at the University of Chicago, but at the Oklo site in the African country of Gabon. Proof of this phenomenon is provided by mass spectrometric and analytical chemical measurements by French scientists. The U.S. experience in developing power-producing reactors and their related fuel and fuel cycles is discussed.

A plate type fuel element which is particularly useful for organic cooled reactors is described. Generally, the fuel element comprises a plurality of fissionable fuel bearing plates held in spaced relationship by a frame in which the plates are slidably mounted in grooves. Clearance is provided in the grooves to allow the plates to expand laterally. The plates may be rigidly interconnected but are floatingly supported at their ends within the frame to allow for longi-tudinal expansion. Thus, this fuel element is able to withstand large temperature differentials without great structural stresses. (AEC)

Homogeneous reactor fuel solutions are reported which provide automatic recombination of radiolytic gases and exhibit large thermal expansion characteristics, thereby providing stability at high temperatures and enabling reactor operation without the necessity of apparatus to recombine gases formed by the radiolytic dissociation of water in the fuel and without the necessity of liquid fuel handling outside the reactor vessel except for recovery processes. The fuels consist of phosphoric acid and water solutions of enriched uranium, wherein the uranium is in either the hexavalent or tetravalent state.

A fuel plate is designed for incorporation into control rods of the type utilized in high-flux test reactors. The fuel plate is designed so that the portion nearest the poison section of the control rod contains about one-half as much fissionable material as in the rest of the plate, thereby eliminating dangerous flux peaking in that portion. (AEC)

A near-term vented fuelpin concept as a back-up option for the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR) system was evaluated. This work explored the feasibility of using mixed carbide fuel (U0.85P0.15)C with off-the-shelf monolithic SiC clad in order to meet requirements for GFR fuel with an average burnup of 10%. The stress loading on the SiC cladding due to fuel swelling and thermal stress due to temperature gradient were estimated based on the data from the development of carbide fuels in the 1970’s-1980’s and the materials properties for SiC tubes. The fuel swelling at the goal burnup (10%) is expected to produce a hoop stress of approximately 32 MPa in cladding, approaching the estimated maximum allowable hoop stress (~33 MPa) for a SiC cladding reliability of 99.99%. The estimated tensile thermal stress component (~121 MPa) near the outer surface of a monolithic SiC cladding is likely to limit its application at high temperatures.

A method of sheathing a tubular fuel element for a nuclear reactor is described. A low melting metal core member is centered in a die, a layer of a powdered sheathing substance is placed on the bottom of the die, the tubular fuel element is inserted in the die, the space between the tubular fuel element and the die walls and core member is filled with the same powdered sheathing substance, a layer of the same substance is placed over the fissile material, and the charge within the die is subjected to pressure in the direction of the axis of the fuel element at the sintering temperature of the protective substance.

A nuclear reactor fuel element comprising high density ceramic fissionable material enclosed in a tubular cladding of corrosion-resistant material is described. The fissionable material is in the form of segments of a tube which have cooperating tapered interfaces which produce outward radial displacement when the segments are urged axially together. A resilient means is provided within the tubular housing to constantly urge the fuel segments axially. This design maintains the fuel material in tight contacting engagement against the inner surface of the outer cladding tube to eliminate any gap therebetween which may be caused by differential thermal expansion between the fuel material and the material of the tube.

From 1950 through 1980, scientists, engineers and national leaders confidently predicted an early twenty-first century where fast breeder reactors and commercial nuclearfuel reprocessing were commonplace. Such a scenario seemed necessary for a world with the more than 1000 GWe of nuclear energy needed to meet such an ever-increasing thirst for energy. Thirty years later uranium reserves are increasing on pace with consumption, the growth of nuclear power has been slowed, commercial breeder reactors have yet to enter the marketplace, and less than a handful of commercial reprocessing plants operate. As Nobel Laureate Niels Bohr famously said, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” The programme for IChemE’s 2012 conference on the nuclearfuel cycle features a graphic of an idealized nuclearfuel cycle that symbolizes the quest for a closed nuclearfuel cycle featuring careful husbanding of precious resources while minimizing the waste footprint. Progress toward achieving this ideal has been disrupted by technology innovations in the mining and petrochemical industries, as well as within the nuclear industry.

Cladding samples taken from the ballooned region of the irradiated Zircaloy-2 cladded PHWR fuelpins which failed during isothermal heating tests carried out at 800-900 °C were examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The examination of samples from the fuelpin tested at 900 °C showed an intergranular mode of failure in the cladding due to formation of cracks, cavities and zirconium hydride precipitates on the grain boundaries in the cladding material. A thin hard α-Zr(O) layer was observed on outer surface due to dissolution of the oxide layer formed during reactor operation. Grain boundary sliding was identified to be the main mode of creep deformation of Zircaloy-2 at 900 °C. Examination of the cladding tested at 800 °C showed absence of cracks or cavities in the deformed material and no localisation of hydrides was observed at the grain boundaries. The failure of the cladding occurred after necking followed by extensive wall thinning of the cladding tube.

An analytical model has been developed to describe the fission product release from nuclearfuel arising from the surface-fission release mechanisms of recoil and knockout. Release expressions are evaluated and compared to the short-lived activity measurements from in-reactor experiments with intact operating fuel. Recoil is shown to be an important process for releasing fission products from free UO 2 surfaces into the fuel-to-sheath gap. The model is also applied to tramp uranium in a power reactor primary heat transport circuit where it is demonstrated that recoil is the dominant release mechanism for small particles of fuel which are deposited on in-core surfaces. A methodology is established whereby release from surface contamination can be distinguished from that of fuelpin failure.

Gaseous-fuelnuclear reactors are described; their distinguishing feature is the use of fissile fuels in a gaseous or plasma state, thereby breaking the barrier of temperature imposed by solid-fuel elements. This property creates a reactor heat source that may be able to heat the propellant of a rocket engine to 10,000 or 20,000 K. At this temperature level, gas-core reactors would provide the breakthrough in propulsion needed to open the entire solar system to manned and unmanned spacecraft. The possibility of fuel recycling makes possible efficiencies of up to 65% and nuclear safety at reduced cost, as well as high-thrust propulsion capabilities with specific impulse up to 5000 sec.

Global appetite for fission power is projected to grow dramatically this century, and for good reason. Despite considerable research to identify new sources of energy, fission remains the most plentiful and practical alternative to fossil fuels. The environmental challenges of fossil fuel have made the fission power option increasingly attractive, particularly as we are forced to rely on reserves in ecologically fragile or politically unstable corners of the globe. Caught between a globally eroding fossil fuel reserve as well as the uncertainty and considerable costs in the development of fusion power, most of the world will most likely come to rely on fission power for at least the remainder of the 21st century. Despite inevitable growth, fission power faces enduring challenges in sustainability and security. One of fission power's greatest hurdles to universal acceptance is the risk of potential misuse for nefarious purposes of fissionable byproducts in spent fuel, such as plutonium. With this issue in mind, we have discussed intrinsic concepts in this report that are motivated by the premise that the utility, desirability, and applicability of nuclear materials can be reduced. In a general sense, the intrinsic solutions aim to reduce or eliminate the quantity of existing weapons usable material; avoid production of new weapons-usable material through enrichment, breeding, extraction; or employ engineering solutions to make the fuel cycle less useful or more difficult for producing weapons-usable material. By their nature, these schemes require modifications to existing fuel cycles. As such, the concomitants of these modifications require engagement from the nuclear reactor and fuel-design community to fully assess their effects. Unfortunately, active pursuit of any scheme that could further complicate the spread of domestic nuclear power will probably be understandably unpopular. Nevertheless, the nonproliferation and counterterrorism issues are paramount, and

A core and composite fuel assembly for a liquid-cooled breeder nuclear reactor including a plurality of elongated coextending driver and breeder fuel elements arranged to form a generally polygonal bundle within a thin-walled duct. The breeder elements are larger in cross section than the driver elements, and each breeder element is laterally bounded by a number of the driver elements. Each driver element further includes structure for spacing the driver elements from adjacent fuel elements and, where adjacent, the thin-walled duct. A core made up of the fuel elements can advantageously include fissile fuel of only one enrichment, while varying the effective enrichment of any given assembly or core region, merely by varying the relative number and size of the driver and breeder elements.

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclearfuel. Work at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center seeks to develop high fidelity thermal simulators that not only match the static power profile that would be observed in an operating, fuelednuclear reactor, but to also match the dynamic fuelpin performance during feasible transients. Comparison between the fuelpins and thermal simulators is made at the fuel clad surface, which corresponds to the sheath surface in the thermal simulator. Static and dynamic fuelpin performance was determined using SINDA-FLUINT analysis, and the performance of conceptual thermal simulator designs was compared to the expected nuclear performance. Through a series of iterative analysis, a conceptual high fidelity design will be developed, followed by engineering design, fabrication, and testing to validate the overall design process. Although the resulting thermal simulator will be designed for a specific reactor concept, establishing this rigorous design process will assist in streamlining the thermal simulator development for other reactor concepts.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reactor critical facility is currently the only facility in North America providing critical measurement data in support of the light water reactor electric power industry. The reactor is fueled by 4.81 wt% [sup 235]U enriched UO[sub 2] high-density pellets in stainless steel clad fuel rods at the present time, although experiments with other fuels are being analyzed. The fuelpins are supported by inexpensive stainless steel lattice plates in a large open water tank. Three sets of lattice plates have been fabricated for fuelpins in square array with pitches 0.585, 0.613, and 0.640 in. (1.486, 0.613, and 1.656 cm, respectively) to provide a relevant range of water-to-fuel volume ratios. The measurements reported here are for the first of these, a relatively tight lattice of considerable interest for reactor physics methods for advanced fuels and reactors.

The long-term wide development of nuclear power requires new approaches towards the realization of nuclearfuel cycle, namely, closed nuclearfuel cycle (CNFC) with respect to fission materials. Plant nuclearfuel cycle (PNFC), which is in fact the reprocessing of spent nuclearfuel unloaded from the reactor and the production of new nuclearfuel (NF) at the same place together with reactor plant, can be one variant of CNFC. Developing and projecting of PNFC is a complicated high-technology innovative process that requires modern information support. One of the components of this information support is developed by the authors. This component is the programme conducting calculations for various variants of process flow sheets for reprocessing SNF and production of NF. Central in this programme is the blocks library, where the blocks contain mathematical description of separate processes and operations. The calculating programme itself has such a structure that one can configure the complex of blocks and correlations between blocks, appropriate for any given flow sheet. For the ready sequence of operations balance calculations are made of all flows, i.e. expenses, element and substance makeup, heat emission and radiation rate are determined. The programme is open and the block library can be updated. This means that more complicated and detailed models of technological processes will be added to the library basing on the results of testing processes using real equipment, in test operating mode. The development of the model for the realization of technical-economic analysis of various variants of technologic PNFC schemes and the organization of 'operator's advisor' is expected. (authors)

A stainless steel-clad actinide metal fuel rod for use in fast reactors is reported. In order to prevert cladding failures due to alloy formation between the actinide metal and the stainless steel, a mesh-like sleeve of expanded metal is interposed between them, the sleeve metal being of niobium, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, zirconium, or vanadium. Liquid alkali metal is added as a heat transfer agent. (AEC)

The disclosure is directed to a fire resistant nuclearfuel cask employing reversibly thermally expansible bands between adjacent cooling fins such that normal outward flow of heat is not interfered with, but abnormal inward flow of heat is impeded or blocked.

The nuclearfuel cycle consists of mining and milling uranium ore, processing the uranium into a form suitable for generating electricity, burning'' the fuel in nuclear reactors, and managing the resulting spent nuclearfuel. This report presents projections of domestic and foreign requirements for natural uranium and enrichment services as well as projections of discharges of spent nuclearfuel. These fuel cycle requirements are based on the forecasts of future commercial nuclear power capacity and generation published in a recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. Also included in this report are projections of the amount of spent fuel discharged at the end of each fuel cycle for each nuclear generating unit in the United States. The International Nuclear Model is used for calculating the projected nuclearfuel cycle requirements. 14 figs., 38 tabs.

The transmission of delayed fission-product gamma rays through various arrangements of low-enriched UO2 fuelpin lattices in an air medium was studied. Experimental measurements, point-kernel and Monte Carlo photon transport calculations were performed to demonstrate the shielding effect of ordered lattices of fuelpins on the resulting gamma-ray dose to a detector outside the lattice. The variation of the gamma-ray dose on the outside of the lattice as a function of radial position, the so-called "channeling" effect, was analyzed. Techniques for performing experimental measurements and data reduction at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Reactor Critical Facility (RCF) were derived. An experimental apparatus was constructed to hold the arrangements of fuelpins for the measurements. A gamma-ray spectroscopy system consisting of a sodium-iodide scintillation detector was used to collect data. Measurements were made with and without a collimator installed. A point-kernel transport code was developed to map the radial dependence of the gamma-ray flux. Input files for the Monte Carlo code, MCNP, were also developed to accurately model the experimental measurements. The results of the calculations were compared to the experimental measurements. In order to determine the delayed fission-product gamma-ray source for the calculations, a technique was developed using a previously written code, DELBG and the reactor state-point data obtained during the experimental measurements. Calculations were performed demonstrating the effects of material homogenization on the gamma-ray transmission through the fuelpin lattice. Homogeneous and heterogeneous calculations were performed for all RCF fuelpin lattices as well as for a typical commercial pressurized water reactor fuel bundle. The results of the study demonstrated the effectiveness of the experimental measurements to isolate the channeling effect of delayed fission-product gamma-rays through lattices of RCF fuelpins in an

Various embodiments of a nuclearfuel for use in various types of nuclear reactors and/or waste disposal systems are disclosed. One exemplary embodiment of a nuclearfuel may include a fuel element having a plurality of tristructural-isotropic fuel particles embedded in a silicon carbide matrix. An exemplary method of manufacturing a nuclearfuel is also disclosed. The method may include providing a plurality of tristructural-isotropic fuel particles, mixing the plurality of tristructural-isotropic fuel particles with silicon carbide powder to form a precursor mixture, and compacting the precursor mixture at a predetermined pressure and temperature.

One of the primary objectives of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Pressurized-Water Reactor Blowdown Heat Transfer Separate-Effects Program is the determination of the transient surface temperature and surface heat flux of fuelpin simulators (FPSs) from internal thermocouple signals obtained during a loss-of-coolant experiment (LOCE) in the Thermal-Hydraulics Test Facility. This analysis requires the solution of the classical inverse heat conduction problem. The assumptions that allow the governing differential equation to be reduced to one dimension can introduce significant errors in the computed surface heat flux and surface temperature. The degree to which these computed variables are perturbed is addressed and quantified, and experimental evidence is presented which indicates significant differences in surface behavior circumferentially at one axial plane of an FPS during a LOCE.

The ACO-3 irradiation test, which attained extremely high burnups of about 232 GWd/t and resisted a high neutron fluence (E > 0.1 MeV) of about 39E26 n/m2 as one of the lead tests of the Core Demonstration Experiment in the Fast Flux Test Facility, demonstrated that the fuelpin cladding made of ferritic/martensitic HT-9 alloy had superior void swelling resistance. The measured diameter profiles of the irradiated ACO-3 fuelpins showed axially extensive incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region and localized incremental strain near the interfaces between the MOX fuel and upper blanket columns. These incremental strains were as low as 1.5% despite the extremely high level of the fast neutron fluence. Evaluation of the pin diametral strain indicated that the incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region was substantially due to cladding void swelling and irradiation creep caused by internal fission gas pressure, while the localized strain near the MOX fuel/upper blanket interface was likely the result of the pellet/cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) caused by cesium/fuel reactions. The evaluation also suggested that the PCMI was effectively mitigated by a large gap size between the cladding and blanket column.

The ACO-3 irradiation test, which attained extremely high burnups of about 232 GWd/t and resisted a high neutron fluence (E > 0.1 MeV) of about 39 × 1026 n/m2 as one of the lead tests of the Core Demonstration Experiment in the Fast Flux Test Facility, demonstrated that the fuelpin cladding made of ferritic/martensitic HT-9 alloy had superior void swelling resistance. The measured diameter profiles of the irradiated ACO-3 fuelpins showed axially extensive incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region and localized incremental strain near the interfaces between the MOX fuel and upper blanket columns. These incremental strains were as low as 1.5% despite the extremely high level of the fast neutron fluence. Evaluation of the pin diametral strain indicated that the incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region was substantially due to cladding void swelling and irradiation creep caused by internal fission gas pressure, while the localized strain near the MOX fuel/upper blanket interface was likely the result of the pellet/cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) caused by cesium/fuel reactions. The evaluation also suggested that the PCMI was effectively mitigated by a large gap size between the cladding and blanket column.

A method of fabricating nuclear reactor fuel element assemblies having a plurality of longitudinally extending flat fuel elements in spaced parallel relation to each other to form channels is presented. One side of a flat side plate is held contiguous to the ends of the elements and a welding means is passed along the other side of the platertransverse to the direction of the longitudinal extension of the elements. The setting and speed of travel of the welding means is set to cause penetration of the side plate with welds at bridge the gap in each channel between adjacent fuel elements with a weld-through bubble of predetermined size. The fabrication of a high strength, dependable fuel element is provided, and the reduction of distortion and high production costs are facilitated by this method. (AEC)

Compositions are provided that include nuclearfuel. Methods for treating nuclearfuel are provided which can include exposing the fuel to a carbonate-peroxide solution. Methods can also include exposing the fuel to an ammonium solution. Methods for acquiring molybdenum from a uranium comprising material are provided.

Compositions are provided that include nuclearfuel. Methods for treating nuclearfuel are provided which can include exposing the fuel to a carbonate-peroxide solution. Methods can also include exposing the fuel to an ammonium solution. Methods for acquiring molybdenum from a uranium comprising material are provided.

A method is described for producing tritium in a fast breeder reactor cooled with liquid metal. Lithium target pellets are placed in close contact with fissile fuel pellets in order to increase the tritium production rate.

A gamma analyzer system is provided for the analysis of nuclearfuel microspheres and other radioactive particles. The system consists of an analysis turntable with means for loading, in sequence, a plurality of stations within the turntable; a gamma ray detector for determining the spectrum of a sample in one section; means for analyzing the spectrum; and a receiver turntable to collect the analyzed material in stations according to the spectrum analysis. Accordingly, particles may be sorted according to their quality; e.g., fuel particles with fractured coatings may be separated from those that are not fractured, or according to other properties.

This report proposes a strategy for sampling the spent nuclearfuel (SNF) stored in the 105-K Basins (105-K East and 105-K West). This strategy will support decisions concerning the path forward SNF disposition efforts in the following areas: (1) SNF isolation activities such as repackaging/overpacking to a newly constructed staging facility; (2) conditioning processes for fuel stabilization; and (3) interim storage options. This strategy was developed without following the Data Quality Objective (DQO) methodology. It is, however, intended to augment the SNF project DQOS. The SNF sampling is derived by evaluating the current storage condition of the SNF and the factors that effected SNF corrosion/degradation.

Generally the case for closing the nuclearfuel cycle is based on the strategic value of the uranium and plutonium recovered by reprocessing spent fuel. The energy content of 1 t of spent fuel varies from 10,000 to 40,000 t of coal equivalent depending on the reactor type from which the spent fuel arises. Recycling in fast reactors would increase these values by a factor or roughly 40. Reprocessing in the UK has its roots in the technology developed during and after the 1939-45 war to provide plutonium for defence purposes. At BNFL`s Sellafield site in northern England the commercial reprocessing of spent fuel has been undertaken for over 30 years with a cumulative throughput of over 30,000 tU. Over 15,000 tU of the uranium recovered has been recycled and some 70% of all the UK`s AGR fuel has been produced from this material. As a consequence the UK`s bill for imported uranium has been reduced by several hundred million pounds sterling. This report discusses issues associated with reprocessing, uranium, and plutonium recycle.

A process for making refractory nuclearfuel elements involves heating uranium and silicon powders in an inert atmosphere to 1600 to 1800 deg C to form USi/sub 3/; adding silicon carbide, carbon, 15% by weight of nickel and aluminum, and possibly also molybdenum and silicon powders; shaping the mixture; and heating to 1700 to 2050 deg C again in an inert atmosphere. Information on obtaining specific compositions is included. (AEC)

The Mechanistic Fuel Failure (MFF) series of metal fuel irradiations conducted in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) provides an important comparison between data generated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-II) and that expected in a larger-scale fast reactor. The MFF fuel operated with a peak cladding temperature at the top of the fuel column, but developed peak burnup at the centerline of the core. This places the peak fuel temperature midway between the core center and the top of fuel, lower in the fuel column than in EBR-II experiments. Data from the MFF-3 and MFF-5 assemblies are most comparable to the data obtained from the EBR-II X447 experiment. The two X447 pin breaches were strongly influenced by fuel/cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) at the top of the fuel column. Post irradiation examination data from MFF-3 and MFF-5 are presented and compared to historical EBR-II data.

Advancing the performance of Light Water Reactors, Advanced NuclearFuel Cycles, and Advanced Rcactors, such as the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plants, requires enhancing our fundamental understanding of fuel and materials behavior under irradiation. The capability to accurately model the nuclearfuel systems is critical. In order to understand specific aspects of the nuclearfuel, fully coupled fuel simulation codes are required to achieve licensing of specific nuclearfuel designs for operation. The backbone of these codes, models, and simulations is a fundamental understanding and predictive capability for simulating the phase and microstructural behavior of the nuclearfuel system materials and matrices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the modeling and simulation approach in order to deliver predictive tools for advanced fuels development. The coordination between experimental nuclearfuel design, development technical experts, and computational fuel modeling and simulation technical experts is a critical aspect of the approach and naturally leads to an integrated, goal-oriented science-based R & D approach and strengthens both the experimental and computational efforts. The Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Fuels Integrated Performance and Safety Code (IPSC) are working together to determine experimental data and modeling needs. The primary objective of the NEAMS fuels IPSC project is to deliver a coupled, three-dimensional, predictive computational platform for modeling the fabrication and both normal and abnormal operation of nuclearfuelpins and assemblies, applicable to both existing and future reactor fuel designs. The science based program is pursuing the development of an integrated multi-scale and multi-physics modeling and simulation platform for nuclearfuels. This overview paper discusses the vision, goals and approaches how to develop and implement the new approach.

The Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) NuclearFuel Performance code (AMPFuel) is focused on predicting the temperature and strain within a nuclearfuel assembly to evaluate the performance and safety of existing and advanced nuclearfuel bundles within existing and advanced nuclear reactors. AMPFuel was extended to include an integrated nuclearfuel assembly capability for (one-way) coupled radiation transport and nuclearfuel assembly thermo-mechanics. This capability is the initial step toward incorporating an improved predictive nuclearfuel assembly modeling capability to accurately account for source-terms and boundary conditions of traditional (single-pin) nuclearfuel performance simulation, such as the neutron flux distribution, coolant conditions, and assembly mechanical stresses. A novel scheme is introduced for transferring the power distribution from the Scale/Denovo (Denovo) radiation transport code (structured, Cartesian mesh with smeared materials within each cell) to AMPFuel (unstructured, hexagonal mesh with a single material within each cell), allowing the use of a relatively coarse spatial mesh (10 million elements) for the radiation transport and a fine spatial mesh (3.3 billion elements) for thermo-mechanics with very little loss of accuracy. In addition, a new nuclearfuel-specific preconditioner was developed to account for the high aspect ratio of each fuelpin (12 feet axially, but 1 4 inches in diameter) with many individual fuel regions (pellets). With this novel capability, AMPFuel was used to model an entire 17 17 pressurized water reactor fuel assembly with many of the features resolved in three dimensions (for thermo-mechanics and/or neutronics), including the fuel, gap, and cladding of each of the 264 fuelpins; the 25 guide tubes; the top and bottom structural regions; and the upper and lower (neutron) reflector regions. The final, full assembly calculation was executed on Jaguar using 40,000 cores in under 10 hours to model over 162

The BAMBOO computer code was verified by results for the out-of-pile bundle compression test with large diameter pin bundle deformation under the bundle-duct interaction (BDI) condition. The pin diameters of the examined test bundles were 8.5 mm and 10.4 mm, which are targeted as preliminary fuelpin diameters for the upgraded core of the prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) and for demonstration and commercial FBRs studied in the FaCT project. In the bundle compression test, bundle cross-sectional views were obtained from X-ray computer tomography (CT) images and local parameters of bundle deformation such as pin-to-duct and pin-to-pin clearances were measured by CT image analyses. In the verification, calculation results of bundle deformation obtained by the BAMBOO code analyses were compared with the experimental results from the CT image analyses. The comparison showed that the BAMBOO code reasonably predicts deformation of large diameter pin bundles under the BDI condition by assuming that pin bowing and cladding oval distortion are the major deformation mechanisms, the same as in the case of small diameter pin bundles. In addition, the BAMBOO analysis results confirmed that cladding oval distortion effectively suppresses BDI in large diameter pin bundles as well as in small diameter pin bundles.

A fast flux nuclear core of a plurality of rodded, open-lattice assemblies having a rod pattern rotated relative to a rod support structure pattern. Elongated fuel rods are oriented on a triangular array and laterally supported by grid structures positioned along the length of the assembly. Initial inter-assembly contact is through strongbacks at the corners of the support pattern and peripheral fuel rods between adjacent assemblies are nested so as to maintain a triangular pitch across a clearance gap between the other portions of adjacent assemblies. The rod pattern is rotated relative to the strongback support pattern by an angle .alpha. equal to sin .sup.-1 (p/2c), where p is the intra-assembly rod pitch and c is the center-to-center spacing among adjacent assemblies.

An analytical approximation is developed for calculating recoil release from nuclearfuel into gas filled interspaces. This expression is evaluated for a number of interspace geometries and shown to be generally accurate to within about 10% by comparison with numerical calculations. The results are applied to situations of physical interest and it is demonstrated that recoil can be important when modelling fission product release from low temperature CAGR pin failures. Furthermore, recoil can contribute significantly in experiments on low temperature fission product release, particularly where oxidation enhancement of this release is measured by exposing the fuel to CO 2. The calculations presented here are one way of allowing for this, other methods are suggested.

Influence of the nuclear energy structure, the conditions of fuel burnup, and accumulation of new fissile isotopes from the raw isotopes on the main parameters of a closed fuel cycle is considered. The effects of the breeding ratio, the cooling time of the spent fuel in the external fuel cycle, and the separation of the breeding area and the fissile isotope burning area on the parameters of the fuel cycle are analyzed.

Influence of the nuclear energy structure, the conditions of fuel burnup, and accumulation of new fissile isotopes from the raw isotopes on the main parameters of a closed fuel cycle is considered. The effects of the breeding ratio, the cooling time of the spent fuel in the external fuel cycle, and the separation of the breeding area and the fissile isotope burning area on the parameters of the fuel cycle are analyzed.

The development of ODS materials for the cladding for Sodium Fast Reactors is a key issue to achieve the objectives required for the GEN IV reactors. CEA, AREVA and EDF have launched in 2007 an important program to determine the optimal fabrication parameters, and to measure and understand the microstructure and properties before, under and after irradiation of such cladding materials. The aim of this paper is to present the French program and the major results obtained recently at CEA on Fe-9/14/18Cr1WTiY2O3 ferritic/martensitic ODS materials. The first step of the program was to consolidate Fe-9/14/18Cr ODS materials as plates and bars to study the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the new alloys. The second step consists in producing tubes at a geometry representative of the cladding of new Sodium Fast Reactors. The optimization of the fabrication route at the laboratory scale is conducted and different tubes were produced. Their microstructure depends on the martensitic (Fe-9Cr) or ferritic (Fe-14Cr) structure. To join the plug to the tube, the reference process is the welding resistance. A specific approach is developed to model the process and support the development of the welds performed within the "SOPRANO" facility. The development at CEA of Fe-9/14/18Cr new ODS materials for the cladding for GENIV Sodium Fast Reactors is in progress. The first microstructural and mechanical characterizations are very encouraging and the full assessment and qualification of this new alloys and products will pass through the irradiation of specimens, tubes, fuelpins and subassemblies up to high doses.

The Wigner-Seitz pin-cell approximation has long been applied as a modeling approximation in analysis of UO2 lattice fuel cells. In the past, this approximation has been appropriate for such fuel. However, with increasing attention drawn to mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels with significant plutonium content, it is important to understand the implications of the approximation in a uranium-plutonium matrix. The special geometric capabilities of the deterministic NEWT computer code have been used to assess the adequacy of the Wigner-Seitz cell in such an environment, as part of a larger study of computational aspects of MOX fuel modeling. Results of calculations using various approximations and boundary conditions are presented, and are validated by comparison to results obtained using KENO V.a and XSDRNPM.

Improved non-destructive assay of isotopic masses in used nuclearfuel would be valuable for nuclear safeguards operations associated with the transport, storage and reprocessing of used nuclearfuel. Our collaboration is examining the feasibility of using lead slowing down spectrometry techniques to assay the isotopic fissile masses in used nuclearfuel assemblies. We present the application of our analysis algorithms on measurements conducted with a lead spectrometer. The measurements involved a single fresh fuelpin and discrete 239Pu and 235U samples. We are able to describe the isotopic fissile masses with root mean square errors over seven different configurations to 6.35% for 239Pu and 2.7% for 235U over seven different configurations. Funding Source(s):

In a nuclearfuel reactor core, fuel elements are arranged in a closely packed hexagonal configuration, each fuel element having diametrically opposed vents permitting 180.degree. rotation of the fuel elements to counteract bowing. A grid plate engages the fuel elements and forms passages for communicating sets of three, four or six individual vents with respective monitor lines in order to communicate vented radioactive gases from the fuel elements to suitable monitor means in a manner readily permitting detection of leakage in individual fuel elements.

This thesis examines the social efficiency of nuclear power when the risks of accidental releases of spent fuel radionuclides from a spent fuel disposal facility are considered. The analysis consists of two major parts. First, a theoretical economic model of the use of nuclear power including the risks associated with releases of radionuclides from a disposal facility is developed. Second, the costs of nuclear power, including the risks associated with a radionuclide release, are empirically compared to the costs of fossil fuel-fired generation of electricity. Under the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the federally owned and operated spent nuclearfuel disposal facility is not required to maintain a reserve fund to cover damages from an accidental radionuclide release. Thus, the risks of a harmful radionuclide release are not included in the spent nuclearfuel disposal fee charged to the electric utilities. Since the electric utilities do not pay the full, social costs of spent fuel disposal, they use nuclearfuel in excess of the social optimum. An insurance mechanism is proposed to internalize the risks associated with spent fueled disposal. Under this proposal, the Federal government is required to insure the disposal facility against any liabilities arising from accidental releases of spent fuel radionuclides.

The Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) Project supports the Hanford Site Mission to cleanup the Site by providing safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Site spent nuclearfuel in a manner that reduces hazards by staging it to interim onsite storage and deactivates the 100 K Area facilities.

Nuclear power is an essential component of the world's energy supply. The IFR program, by returning to fundamentals, offers a fresh approach to closing the nuclearfuel cycle. This closed fuel cycle represents the ultimate in efficient resource utilization and environmental accountability. 35 refs., 2 tabs.

We review the state of modeling and simulation of nuclearfuels with emphasis on the most widely used nuclearfuel, UO2. The hierarchical scheme presented represents a science-based approach to modeling nuclearfuels by progressively passing information in several stages from ab initio to continuum levels. Such an approach is essential to overcome the challenges posed by radioactive materials handling, experimental limitations in modeling extreme conditions and accident scenarios and small time and distance scales of fundamental defect processes. When used in conjunction with experimental validation, this multiscale modeling scheme can provide valuable guidance to development of fuel for advanced reactors to meet rising global energy demand.

We review the state of modeling and simulation of nuclearfuels with emphasis on the most widely used nuclearfuel, UO2. The hierarchical scheme presented represents a science-based approach to modeling nuclearfuels by progressively passing information in several stages from ab initio to continuum levels. Such an approach is essential to overcome the challenges posed by radioactive materials handling, experimental limitations in modeling extreme conditions and accident scenarios, and the small time and distance scales of fundamental defect processes. When used in conjunction with experimental validation, this multiscale modeling scheme can provide valuable guidance to development of fuel for advanced reactors to meet rising global energy demand.

The success of the development of nuclear thermal propulsion devices and thermionic space nuclear power generation systems depends on the successful utilization of nuclearfuel materials at temperatures in the range 2000 to 3500 K. Problems associated with the utilization of uranium bearing fuel materials at these very high temperatures while maintaining them in the solid state for the required operating times are addressed. The critical issues addressed include evaporation, melting, reactor neutron spectrum, high temperature chemical stability, fabrication, fission induced swelling, fission product release, high temperature creep, thermal shock resistance, and fuel density, both mass and fissile atom. Candidate fuel materials for this temperature range are based on UO{sub 2} or uranium carbides. Evaporation suppression, such as a sealed cladding, is required for either fuel base. Nuclear performance data needed for design are sparse for all candidate fuel forms in this temperature range, especially at the higher temperatures.

The success of the development of nuclear thermal propulsion devices and thermionic space nuclear power generation systems depends on the successful utilization of nuclearfuel materials at temperatures in the range 2000 to 3500 K. Problems associated with the utilization of uranium bearing fuel materials at these very high temperatures while maintaining them in the solid state for the required operating times are addressed. The critical issues addressed include evaporation, melting, reactor neutron spectrum, high temperature chemical stability, fabrication, fission induced swelling, fission product release, high temperature creep, thermal shock resistance, and fuel density, both mass and fissile atom. Candidate fuel materials for this temperature range are based on UO{sub 2} or uranium carbides. Evaporation suppression, such as a sealed cladding, is required for either fuel base. Nuclear performance data needed for design are sparse for all candidate fuel forms in this temperature range, especially at the higher temperatures.

For computations of fluxes, we have used Carvik's method of collision probabilities. This method requires tracking algorithms. An algorithm to compute tracks (in 2D and 3D) has been developed for seven hexagonal geometries with cluster of fuelpins. This has been implemented in the NXT module of the code DRAGON. The flux distribution in cluster of pins has been computed by using this code. For testing the results, they are compared when possible with the EXCELT module of the code DRAGON. Tracks are plotted in the NXT module by using MATLAB, these plots are also presented here. Results are presented with increasing number of lines to show the convergence of these results. We have numerically computed volumes, surface areas and the percentage errors in these computations. These results show that 2D results converge faster than 3D results. The accuracy on the computation of fluxes up to second decimal is achieved with fewer lines. (authors)

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclearfuel. Work at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center seeks to develop high fidelity thermal simulators that not only match the static power profile that would be observed in an operating, fuelednuclear reactor, but also match the dynamic fuelpin performance during feasible transients. Comparison between the fuelpins and thermal simulators is made at the outer fuel clad surface, which corresponds to the outer sheath surface in the thermal simulator. The thermal simulators that are currently being developed are designed to meet the geometric and power requirements of a proposed surface power reactor design, accommodate testing of various axial power profiles, and incorporate imbedded instrumentation. Static and dynamic fuelpin performances for a proposed reactor design have been determined using SINDA/FLUINT thermal analysis software, and initial comparison has been made between the expected nuclear performance and the performance of conceptual thermal simulator designs. Through a series of iterative analysis, a conceptual high fidelity design will be developed, followed by engineering design, fabrication, and testing to validate the overall design process. Although the resulting thermal simulator will be designed for a specific reactor concept, establishing this rigorous design process will assist in streamlining the thermal simulator development for other reactor concepts. This paper presents the current status of high fidelity thermal simulator design relative to a SNAP derivative reactor design that could be applied for Lunar surface power.

Nuclear power has proven safe and reliable, with operating efficiencies in the U.S. exceeding 90%. It provides a carbon-free source of electricity (with about a 10% penalty arising from CO2 released from construction and the fuel cycle). However, used fuel from nuclear reactors is highly toxic and presents a challenge for permanent disposal -- both from technical and policy perspectives. The half-life of the ``bad actors'' is relatively short (of the order of decades) while the very long lived isotopes are relatively benign. At present, spent fuel is stored on-site in cooling ponds. Once the used fuel pools are full, the fuel is moved to dry cask storage on-site. Though the local storage is capable of handling used fuel safely and securely for many decades, the law requires DOE to assume responsibility for the used fuel and remove it from reactor sites. The nuclear industry pays a tithe to support sequestration of used fuel (but not research). However, there is currently no national policy in place to deal with the permanent disposal of nuclearfuel. This administration is opposed to underground storage at Yucca Mountain. There is no national policy for interim storage---removal of spent fuel from reactor sites and storage at a central location. And there is no national policy for liberating the energy contained in used fuel through recycling (separating out the fissionable components for subsequent use as nuclearfuel). A ``Blue Ribbon Commission'' has been formed to consider alternatives, but will not report until 2012. This paper will examine alternatives for used fuel disposition, their drawbacks (e.g. proliferation issues arising from recycling), and their benefits. For recycle options to emerge as a viable technology, research is required to develop cost effective methods for treating used nuclearfuel, with attention to policy as well as technical issues.

An apparatus for electrically simulating a nuclear reactor fuel assembly. It includes a heater assembly having a top end and a bottom end and a plurality of concentric heater tubes having electrical circuitry connected to a power source, and radially spaced from each other. An outer target tube and an inner target tube is concentric with the heater tubes and with each other, and the outer target tube surrounds and is radially spaced from the heater tubes. The inner target tube is surrounded by and radially spaced from the heater tubes and outer target tube. The top of the assembly is generally open to allow for the electrical power connection to the heater tubes, and the bottom of the assembly includes means for completing the electrical circuitry in the heater tubes to provide electrical resistance heating to simulate the power profile in a nuclear reactor. The embedded conductor elements in each heater tube is split into two halves for a substantial portion of its length and provided with electrical isolation such that each half of the conductor is joined at one end and is not joined at the other end.

An apparatus for electrically simulating a nuclear reactor fuel assembly. It includes a heater assembly having a top end and a bottom end and a plurality of concentric heater tubes having electrical circuitry connected to a power source, and radially spaced from each other. An outer target tube and an inner target tube is concentric with the heater tubes and with each other, and the outer target tube surrounds and is radially spaced from the heater tubes. The inner target tube is surrounded by and radially spaced from the heater tubes and outer target tube. The top of the assembly is generally open to allow for the electrical power connection to the heater tubes, and the bottom of the assembly includes means for completing the electrical circuitry in the heater tubes to provide electrical resistance heating to simulate the power profile in a nuclear reactor. The embedded conductor elements in each heater tube is split into two halves for a substantial portion of its length and provided with electrical isolation such that each half of the conductor is joined at one end and is not joined at the other end.

This analysis report presents the projected requirements for uranium concentrate and uranium enrichment services to fuel the nuclear power plants expected to be operating under three nuclear supply scenarios. Two of these scenarios, the Lower Reference and Upper Reference cases, apply to the United States, Canada, Europe, the Far East, and other countries with free market economies (FME countries). A No New Orders scenario is presented only for the United States. These nuclear supply scenarios are described in Commercial Nuclear Power 1990: Prospects for the United States and the World (DOE/EIA-0438(90)). This report contains an analysis of the sensitivities of the nuclearfuel cycle projections to different levels and types of projected nuclear capacity, different enrichment tails assays, higher and lower capacity factors, changes in nuclearfuel burnup levels, and other exogenous assumptions. The projections for the United States generally extend through the year 2020, and the FME projections, which include the United States, are provided through 2010. The report also presents annual projections of spent nuclearfuel discharges and inventories of spent fuel. Appendix D includes domestic spent fuel projections through the year 2030 for the Lower and Upper Reference cases and through 2040, the last year in which spent fuel is discharged, for the No New Orders case. These disaggregated projections are provided at the request of the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

The nuclear lamina lines the inner nuclear membrane providing a structural framework for the nucleus. Cellular processes, such as nuclear envelope breakdown during mitosis or nuclear export of large ribonucleoprotein complexes, are functionally linked to the disassembly of the nuclear lamina. In general, lamina disassembly is mediated by phosphorylation, but the precise molecular mechanism is still not completely understood. Recently, we suggested a novel mechanism for lamina disassembly during the nuclear egress of herpesviral capsids which involves the cellular isomerase Pin1. In this study, we focused on mechanistic details of herpesviral nuclear replication to demonstrate the general importance of Pin1 for lamina disassembly. In particular, Ser22-specific lamin phosphorylation consistently generates a Pin1-binding motif in cells infected with human and animal alpha-, beta-, and gammaherpesviruses. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we showed that binding of Pin1 to a synthetic lamin peptide induces its cis/trans isomerization in vitro. A detailed bioinformatic evaluation strongly suggests that this structural conversion induces large-scale secondary structural changes in the lamin N-terminus. Thus, we concluded that a Pin1-induced conformational change of lamins may represent the molecular trigger responsible for lamina disassembly. Consistent with this concept, pharmacological inhibition of Pin1 activity blocked lamina disassembly in herpesvirus-infected fibroblasts and consequently impaired virus replication. In addition, a phospho-mimetic Ser22Glu lamin mutant was still able to form a regular lamina structure and overexpression of a Ser22-phosphorylating kinase did not induce lamina disassembly in Pin1 knockout cells. Intriguingly, this was observed in absence of herpesvirus infection proposing a broader importance of Pin1 for lamina constitution. Thus, our results suggest a functional model of similar events leading to disassembly of the nuclear

The nuclear lamina lines the inner nuclear membrane providing a structural framework for the nucleus. Cellular processes, such as nuclear envelope breakdown during mitosis or nuclear export of large ribonucleoprotein complexes, are functionally linked to the disassembly of the nuclear lamina. In general, lamina disassembly is mediated by phosphorylation, but the precise molecular mechanism is still not completely understood. Recently, we suggested a novel mechanism for lamina disassembly during the nuclear egress of herpesviral capsids which involves the cellular isomerase Pin1. In this study, we focused on mechanistic details of herpesviral nuclear replication to demonstrate the general importance of Pin1 for lamina disassembly. In particular, Ser22-specific lamin phosphorylation consistently generates a Pin1-binding motif in cells infected with human and animal alpha-, beta-, and gammaherpesviruses. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we showed that binding of Pin1 to a synthetic lamin peptide induces its cis/trans isomerization in vitro. A detailed bioinformatic evaluation strongly suggests that this structural conversion induces large-scale secondary structural changes in the lamin N-terminus. Thus, we concluded that a Pin1-induced conformational change of lamins may represent the molecular trigger responsible for lamina disassembly. Consistent with this concept, pharmacological inhibition of Pin1 activity blocked lamina disassembly in herpesvirus-infected fibroblasts and consequently impaired virus replication. In addition, a phospho-mimetic Ser22Glu lamin mutant was still able to form a regular lamina structure and overexpression of a Ser22-phosphorylating kinase did not induce lamina disassembly in Pin1 knockout cells. Intriguingly, this was observed in absence of herpesvirus infection proposing a broader importance of Pin1 for lamina constitution. Thus, our results suggest a functional model of similar events leading to disassembly of the nuclear

Fuel handling apparatus for transporting fuel elements into and out of a nuclear reactor and transporting them within the reactor vessel extends through a penetration in the side of the reactor vessel. A lateral transport device carries the fuel elements laterally within the vessel and through the opening in the side of the vessel, and a reversible lifting device raises and lowers the fuel elements. In the preferred embodiment, the lifting device is supported by a pair of pivot arms.

The effects of some materials variables on the irradiation performance of fuelpins for a lithium-cooled space power reactor design concept were examined. The variables studied were UN fuel density, fuel composition, and cladding alloy. All pins were irradiated at about 990 C in a thermal neutron environment to the design fuel burnup. An 85-percent dense UN fuel gave the best overall results in meeting the operational goals. The T-111 cladding on all specimens was embrittled, possibly by hydrogen in the case of the UN fuel and by uranium and oxygen in the case of the UO2 fuel. Tests with Cb-1Zr cladding indicate potential use of this cladding material. The UO2 fueled specimens met the operational goals of less than 1 percent cladding strain, but other factors make UO2 less attractive than low-density UN for the contemplated space power reactor use.

Disclosed is an alpha monitor usable in an automated nuclearfuelpin loading and processing unit. Fuelpins or other elongated pins are fed laterally into the alpha monitor in a singular fashion and are translated by a first roller assembly into a weld flare machining and decontamination substation not forming a part of the invention. Pins return and are lifted upwardly and transferred across to a combined pin lifting and electrode operating means which lifts the pins upwardly into a clamshell electrode assembly which is spread open by a combined pin lifting and electrode operating means. Once inserted the clamshell type electrode arrangement closes around the fuelpins so that inspection can occur. Fuelpins are inspected by charging electrodes to a negative potential and measuring the change in charge occurring when positively charged alpha particles strike the negatively charged electrodes. After inspection, the fuelpins are lowered by the pin lifting and electrode operating means into a second roller assembly which longitudinally conveys approved pins from the airtight enclosure in which the alpha monitor is mounted. If the fuelpins are rejected then they are moved laterally by a second transfer means and onto another system for further processing.

This disclosure describes an alpha monitor usable in an automated nuclearfuelpin loading and processing unit. Fuelpins or other elongated pins are fed laterally into the alpha monitor in a singular fashion and are translated by a first roller assembly into a weld flare machining and decontamination substation not forming a part of the invention. Pins return and are lifted upwardly and transferred across to a combined pin lifting and electrode operating means which lifts the pins upwardly into a clamshell electrode assembly which is spread open by a combined pin lifting and electrode operating means. Once inserted the clamshell type electrode arrangement closes around the fuelpins so that inspection can occur. Fuelpins are inspected by charging electrodes to a negative potential and measuring the change in charge occurring when positively charged alpha particles strike the negatively charged electrodes. After inspection, the fuelpins are lowered by the pin lifting and electrode operating means into a second roller assembly which longitudinally conveys approved pins from the airtight enclosure in which the alpha monitor is mounted. If the fuelpins are rejected then they are moved laterally by a second transfer means and onto another system for further processing.

An improved nuclearfuel element is disclosed for use in the core of nuclear reactors. The improved nuclearfuel element has a composite cladding of an outer portion forming a substrate having on the inside surface a metal layer selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and alloys of the foregoing with a gap between the composite cladding and the core of nuclearfuel. The nuclearfuel element comprises a container of the elongated composite cladding, a central core of a body of nuclearfuel material disposed in and partially filling the container and forming an internal cavity in the container, an enclosure integrally secured and sealed at each end of said container and a nuclearfuel material retaining means positioned in the cavity. The metal layer of the composite cladding prevents perforations or failures in the cladding substrate from stress corrosion cracking or from fuel pellet-cladding interaction or both. The substrate of the composite cladding is selected from conventional cladding materials and preferably is a zirconium alloy.

>A rib arrangement and an end construction for nuclearfuel elements laid end to end in a coolant tube are described. The rib arrangement is such that each fuel element, when separated from other fuel elements, fits loosely in the coolant tube and so can easily be inserted or withdrawn from the tube. The end construction of the fuel elements is such that the fuel elements when assembled end to end are keyed against relative rotation, and the ribs of each fuel element cooperate with the ribs of the adjacent fuel elements to give the assembled fuel elements a tight fit with the coolant tube. (AEC)

A method is disclosed for shearing spent nuclearfuel assemblies of the type wherein a plurality of long metal tubes packed with ceramic fuel are supported in a spaced apart relationship within an outer metal shell or shroud which provides structural support to the assembly. Spent nuclearfuel assemblies are first compacted in a stepwise manner between specially designed gag-compactors and then sheared into short segments amenable to chemical processing by shear blades contoured to mate with the compacted surface of the fuel assembly.

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need has developed for a ready source of information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book was compiled to meet that need. The information contained in the International NuclearFuel Cycle Fact Book has been obtained from many unclassified sources: nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECN/NEA activities reports; not reflect any one single source but frequently represent a consolidation/combination of information.

This dose management plan facilitates meeting the dose management and ALARA requirements applicable to the design activities of the Spent NuclearFuel Project, and establishes consistency of information used by multiple subprojects in ALARA evaluations. The method for meeting the ALARA requirements applicable to facility designs involves two components. The first is each Spent NuclearFuel Project subproject incorporating ALARA principles, ALARA design optimizations, and ALARA design reviews throughout the design of facilities and equipment. The second component is the Spent NuclearFuel Project management providing overall dose management guidance to the subprojects and oversight of the subproject dose management efforts.

Internationally, the nuclear industry is represented by both commercial utilities and research institutions. Over the past two decades many of these entities have had to relocate inventories of spent nuclearfuel from underwater storage to dry storage. These efforts were primarily prompted by two factors: insufficient storage capacity (potentially precipitated by an open-ended nuclearfuel cycle) or deteriorating quality of existing underwater facilities. The intent of developing this bibliography is to assess what issues associated with fuel drying have been identified, to consider where concerns have been satisfactorily addressed, and to recommend where additional research would offer the most value to the commercial industry and the U. S. Department of Energy.

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership fuels development program is currently developing metallic, oxide, and nitride fuel forms as candidate fuels for an Advanced Burner Reactor. The Advance Burner Reactor is being designed to fission actinides efficiently, thereby reducing the long-term storage requirements for spent fuel repositories. Small fuel samples are being fabricated and evaluated with different transuranic loadings and with extensive burnup using the Advanced Test Reactor. During the next several years, numerous fuel samples will be fabricated, evaluated, and tested, with the eventual goal of developing a transmuter fuel database that supports the down selection to the most suitable fuel type. To provide a comparative database of safety margins for the range of potential transmuter fuels, this report describes a plan to conduct a set of early transient tests in the Annular Core Research Reactor at Sandia National Laboratories. The Annular Core Research Reactor is uniquely qualified to perform these types of tests because of its wide range of operating capabilities and large dry central cavity which extents through the center of the core. The goal of the fuels testing program is to demonstrate that the design and fabrication processes are of sufficient quality that the fuel will not fail at its design limit--up to a specified burnup, power density, and operating temperature. Transient testing is required to determine the fuelpin failure thresholds and to demonstrate that adequate fuel failure margins exist during the postulated design basis accidents.

The use of nuclear reactors to provide electrical energy has shown considerable growth since the first nuclear plant started commercial operation in the mid 1950s. Although the main purpose of this paper is to review the fuel cycle capabilities in the United States, the introduction is a brief review of the types of nuclear reactors in use and the world-wide nuclear capacity.

The use of nuclear reactors to provide electrical energy has shown considerable growth since the first nuclear plant started commercial operation in the mid 1950s. Although the main purpose of this paper is to review the fuel cycle capabilities in the United States, the introduction is a brief review of the types of nuclear reactors in use and the world-wide nuclear capacity.

A fuel element is designed which is particularly adapted for reactors of high power density used to generate steam for the production of electricity. The fuel element consists of inner and outer concentric tubes forming an annular chamber within which is contained fissionable fuel pellet segments, wedge members interposed between the fuel segments, and a spring which, acting with wedge members, urges said fuel pellets radially into contact against the inner surface of the outer tube. The wedge members may be a fertile material convertible into fissionable fuel material by absorbing neutrons emitted from the fissionable fuel pellet segments. The costly grinding of cylindrical fuel pellets to close tolerances for snug engagement is reduced because the need to finish the exact size is eliminated. (AEC)

A new and improved fuel assembly is formed to minimize the amount of parasitic structural material wherein a plurality of hollow tubular members are juxtaposed to the fuel elements of the assembly. The tubular members may serve as guide tubes for control elements and are secured to a number of longitudinally spaced grid members along the fuel assembly. The grid members include means thereon engaging each of the fuel elements to laterally position the fuel elements in a predetermined array. Openings in the bottom of each hollow member serve as a shock absorber to cushion shock transmitted to the structure when the control elements are rapidly inserted in their corresponding tubular members.

An improved method for producing nuclearfuel containers of a composite construction having components providing therein a barrier system for resisting destructive action by volatile fission products or impurities and also interdiffusion of metal constituents, and the product thereof. The composite nuclearfuel containers of the method comprise a casing of zirconium or alloy thereof with a layer of copper overlying an oxidized surface portion of the zirconium or alloy thereof.

Disclosed is an improved method for producing nuclearfuel containers of a composite construction having components providing therein a barrier system for resisting destructive action by volatile fission products or impurities and also interdiffusion of metal constituents, and the product thereof. The composite nuclearfuel containers of the method comprise a casing of zirconium or alloy thereof with a layer of copper overlying an oxidized surface portion of the zirconium or alloy thereof. 1 fig.

In 2005, the Provisions on Nuclear Material Measurement System was enacted in Ukraine as an important regulatory driver to support international obligations in nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation. It defines key provisions and requirements for material measurement and measurement control programs to ensure the quality and reliability of measurement data within the framework of the State MC&A System. Implementing the Provisions requires establishing a number of measurement techniques for both fresh and spent nuclearfuel for various types of Ukrainian reactors. Our first efforts focused on measurements of fresh nuclearfuel from a WWR-1000 power reactor.

An improved nuclearfuel kernel having at least one pyrolytic carbon coating and a silicon carbon layer is provided in which extensive interaction of fission product lanthanides with the silicon carbon layer is avoided by providing sufficient UO.sub.2 to maintain the lanthanides as oxides during in-reactor use of said fuel.

The Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) Project Technical Databook is developed for use as a common authoritative source of fuel behavior and material parameters in support of the Hanford SNF Project. The Technical Databook will be revised as necessary to add parameters as their Databook submittals become available.

Dry (non-aqueous) separations technologies have been used for treatment of used nuclearfuel since the 1960s, and they are still being developed and demonstrated in many countries. Dry technologies offer potential advantages compared to traditional aqueous separations including: compactness, resistance to radiation effects, criticality control benefits, compatibility with advanced fuel types, and ability to produce low purity products. Within the Department of Energy’s Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, an electrochemical process employing molten salts is being developed for recycle of fast reactor fuel and treatment of light water reactor oxide fuel to produce a feed for fast reactors. Much of the development of this technology is based on treatment of used Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) fuel, which is metallic. Electrochemical treatment of the EBR-II fuel has been ongoing in the Fuel Conditioning Facility, located at the Materials and Fuel Complex of Idaho National Laboratory since 1996. More than 3.8 metric tons of heavy metal of metallic fast reactor fuel have been treated using this technology. This paper will summarize the status of electrochemical development and demonstration activities with used nuclearfuel, including high-level waste work. A historic perspective on the background of dry processing will also be provided.

A rack for storing spent nuclearfuel elements in which a plurality of aligned rows of upright enclosures of generally square cross-sectional areas contain vertically disposed fuel elements. The enclosures are fixed at the lower ends thereof to a base. Pockets are formed between confronting walls of adjacent enclosures for receiving high absorption neutron absorbers, such as Boral, cadmium, borated stainless steel and the like for the closer spacing of spent fuel elements.

... Informational Meeting on NuclearFuel Cycle Options AGENCY: Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies, Office of Nuclear.... At this meeting, input is being sought from participants knowledgeable in nuclearfuel cycles... evaluation and screening of nuclearfuel cycle options in 2013. At this meeting, input is being sought...

As the nation's nuclear energy laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory brings together talented people and specialized nuclear research capability to accomplish our mission. This edition of the NuclearFuels and Materials Division Spotlight provides an overview of some of our recent accomplishments in research and capability development. These accomplishments include: • The first identification of silver and palladium migrating through the SiC layer in TRISO fuel • A description of irradiation assisted stress corrosion testing capabilities that support commercial light water reactor life extension • Results of high-temperature safety testing on coated particle fuels irradiated in the ATR • New methods for testing the integrity of irradiated plate-type reactor fuel • Description of a 'Smart Fuel' concept that wirelessly provides real time information about changes in nuclearfuel properties and operating conditions • Development and testing of ultrasonic transducers and real-time flux sensors for use inside reactor cores, and • An example of a capsule irradiation test. Throughout Spotlight, you'll find examples of productive partnerships with academia, industry, and government agencies that deliver high-impact outcomes. The work conducted at Idaho National Laboratory helps to spur innovation in nuclear energy applications that drive economic growth and energy security. We appreciate your interest in our work here at INL, and hope that you find this issue informative.

The potential need for a dry transfer system (DTS) to enable retrieval of used nuclearfuel (UNF) for inspection or repackaging will increase as the duration and quantity of fuel in dry storage increases. This report explores the uses for a DTS, identifies associated general functional requirements, and reviews existing and proposed systems that currently perform dry fuel transfers. The focus of this paper is on the need for a DTS to enable transfer of bare fuel assemblies. Dry transfer systems for UNF canisters are currently available and in use for transferring loaded canisters between the drying station and storage and transportation casks.

The Accident Analysis Handbook (AAH) covers four generic facilities: fuel manufacturing, fuel reprocessing, waste storage/solidification, and spent fuel storage; and six accident types: fire, explosion, tornado, criticality, spill, and equipment failure. These are the accident types considered to make major contributions to the radiological risk from accidents in nuclearfuel cycle facility operations. The AAH will enable the user to calculate source term releases from accident scenarios manually or by computer. A major feature of the AAH is development of accident sample problems to provide input to source term analysis methods and transport computer codes. Sample problems and illustrative examples for different accident types are included in the AAH.

Methods for making nuclearfuel compacts exhibiting low heavy metal contamination and fewer defective coatings following compact fabrication from a mixture of hardenable binder, such as petroleum pitch, and nuclearfuel particles having multiple layer fission-product-retentive coatings, with the dense outermost layer of the fission-product-retentive coating being surrounded by a protective overcoating, e.g., pyrocarbon having a density between about 1 and 1.3 g/cm.sup.3. Such particles can be pre-compacted in molds under relatively high pressures and then combined with a fluid binder which is ultimately carbonized to produce carbonaceous nuclearfuel compacts having relatively high fuel loadings.

A high-level study was performed in Fiscal Year 2009 for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) to provide information for a range of nuclearfuel cycle options (Wigeland 2009). At that time, some fuel cycle options could not be adequately evaluated since they were not well defined and lacked sufficient information. As a result, five families of these fuel cycle options are being studied during Fiscal Year 2010 by the Systems Analysis Campaign for the DOE NE Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) program. The quality and completeness of data available to date for the fuel cycle options is insufficient to perform quantitative radioactive waste analyses using recommended metrics. This study has been limited thus far to qualitative analyses of waste streams from the candidate fuel cycle options, because quantitative data for wastes from the front end, fuel fabrication, reactor core structure, and used fuel for these options is generally not yet available.

Management of irradiated fuel is an important component of commercial nuclear power production. Although it is broadly agreed that the disposition of some fraction of the fuel in geological repositories will be necessary, there is a range of options that can be considered that affect exactly what fraction of material will be disposed in that manner. Furthermore, until geological repositories are available to accept commercial irradiated fuel, these materials must be safely stored. Temporary storage of irradiated fuel has traditionally been conducted in storage pools, and this is still true for freshly discharged fuel. Criticality control technologies have led to greater efficiencies in packing of irradiated fuel into storage pools. With continued delays in establishing permanent repositories, utilities have begun to move some of the irradiated fuel inventory into dry storage. Fuel cycle options being considered worldwide include the once-through fuel cycle, limited recycle in which U and Pu are recycled back to power reactors as mixed oxide fuel, and advance partitioning and transmutation schemes designed to reduce the long term hazards associated with geological disposal from millions of years to a few hundred years. Each of these options introduces specific challenges in terms of the waste forms required to safely immobilize the hazardous components of irradiated fuel.

An elongated nuclear reactor fuel assembly is described having an asymmetric weight distribution across a cross section, including a nozzle affixed to one end of the fuel assembly having lifting surfaces formed thereon on which the fuel assembly can be supported when suspended from the surfaces. At least one of the lifting surfaces is located at a first elevation relative to the longitudinal axis of the fuel assembly. A second of the lifting surfaces is located at a second elevation different from the first elevation wherein the difference in the first and second elevations is sized to offset the asymmetric weight distribution when the fuel assembly is supported from the first and second surface so that when so supported the fuel assembly will hang plumb.

Molten-salt reactor fuel compositions consisting of mixtures of fluoride salts are reported. In its broadest form, the composition contains an alkali fluoride such as sodium fluoride, zirconium tetrafluoride, and a uranium fluoride, the latter being the tetrafluoride or trifluoride or a mixture of the two. An outstanding property of these fuel compositions is a high coeffieient of thermal expansion which provides a negative temperature coefficient of reactivity in reactors in which they are used.

The nuclearfuel cycle consists of a series of industrial processes that produce fuel for the production of electricity in nuclear reactors, use the fuel to generate electricity, and subsequently manage the spent reactor fuel. While the physics and engineering of controlled fission are central to the generation of nuclear power, chemistry…

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need has developed for a ready source of information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book was compiled to meet that need. The information contained in the International NuclearFuel Cycle Fact Book has been obtained from many unclassified sources: nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECD/NEA activities reports; proceedings of conferences and workshops, etc. The data listed do not reflect any one single source but frequently represent a consolidation/combination of information.

At the present time, nuclear pellet inspection is performed manually using naked eyes for judgment and decisionmaking on accepting or rejecting pellets. This current practice of pellet inspection is tedious and subject to inconsistencies and error. Furthermore, unnecessary re-fabrication of pellets is costly and the presence of low quality pellets in a fuel assembly is unacceptable. To improve the quality control in nuclearfuel fabrication plants, an automated pellet inspection system based on advanced techniques is needed. Such a system addresses the following concerns of the current manual inspection method: (1) the reliability of inspection due to typical human errors, (2) radiation exposure to the workers, and (3) speed of inspection and its economical impact. The goal of this research is to develop an automated nuclearfuel pellet inspection system which is based on pellet video (photographic) images and uses artificial intelligence techniques.

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need has developed for a ready source or information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book was compiled to meet that need. The information contained has been obtained from nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECD/NEA activities reports; proceedings of conferences and workshops; and so forth. Sources do not agree completely with each other, and the data listed herein does not reflect any one single source but frequently is consolidation/combination of information. Lack of space as well as the intent and purpose of the Fact Book limit the given information to that pertaining to the NuclearFuel Cycle and to data considered of primary interest or most helpful to the majority of users.

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need exists costs for a ready source of information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book has been compiled to meet that need. The information contained in the International NuclearFuel Cycle Fact Book has been obtained from many unclassified sources: nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECD/NMEA activities reports; and proceedings of conferences and workshops. The data listed typically do not reflect any single source but frequently represent a consolidation/combination of information.

International safeguards as applied by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are a vital cornerstone of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime - they protect against the peaceful nuclearfuel cycle becoming the undetected vehicle for nuclear weapons proliferation by States. Likewise, domestic safeguards and nuclear security are essential to combating theft, sabotage, and nuclear terrorism by non-State actors. While current approaches to safeguarding and protecting the nuclearfuel cycle have been very successful, there is significant, active interest to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of safeguards and security, particularly in light of the anticipated growth of nuclear energy and the increase in the global threat environment. This article will address two recent developments called Safeguards-by-Design and Security-by-Design, which are receiving increasing broad international attention and support. Expected benefits include facilities that are inherently more economical to effectively safeguard and protect. However, the technical measures of safeguards and security alone are not enough - they must continue to be broadly supported by dynamic and adaptive nonproliferation and security regimes. To this end, at the level of the global fuel cycle architecture, 'nonproliferation and security by design' remains a worthy objective that is also the subject of very active, international focus.

A device for shutting down a nuclear reactor during an undercooling or overpower event, whether or not the reactor's scram system operates properly. This is accomplished by double-clad fuel safety rods positioned at various locations throughout the reactor core, wherein melting of a secondary internal cladding of the rod allows the fuel column therein to shift from the reactor core to place the reactor in a subcritical condition.

The Spent NuclearFuel Integrated Schedule Plan establishes the organizational responsibilities, rules for developing, maintain and status of the SNF integrated schedule, and an implementation plan for the integrated schedule. The mission of the SNFP on the Hanford site is to provide safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Hanford SNF in a manner which stages it to final disposition. This particularly involves K Basin fuel.

In order to increase the power density of current and new light water reactor designs, the Helical Cruciform Fuel (HCF) rods are proposed. The HCF rods are equivalent to a cylindrical rod, with the fuel in a cruciform shaped, twisted axially. The HCF rods increase the surface area to volume ratio and inter-subchannel mixing behavior due to their cruciform and helical shapes, respectively. In a previous study, the HCF rods have shown the potential to up-rate existing PWRs by 50% and BWRs by 25%. However, HCF rods do display different neutronics modeling and performance. The cruciform cross section of HCF rods creates radially asymmetric heat generation and temperature distribution. The nominal HCF rod's beginning of life reactivity is reduced, compared to a cylindrical rod with the same fuel volume, by 500 pcm, due to increase in absorption in cladding. The rotation of these rods accounts for reactivity changes, which depends on the H/HM ratio of the pin cell. The HCF geometry shows large sensitivities to U{sup 235} or gadolinium enrichments compared to a cylindrical geometry. In addition, the gadolinium-containing HCF rods show a stronger effect on neighboring HCF rods than in case of cylindrical rods, depending on the orientation of the HCF rods. The helical geometry of the rods introduces axial shadowing of about 600 pcm, not seen in typical cylindrical rods. (authors)

A nuclear reactor core fuel element is composed of nanophase high temperature materials. An array of the fuel elements in rod form are joined in an open geometry fuel cell that preferably also uses such nanophase materials for the cell structures. The particular high temperature nanophase fuel element material must have the appropriate mechanical characteristics to avoid strain-related failure even at high temperatures, in the order of about 3,000 F. Preferably, the reactor type is a pressurized or boiling water reactor and the nanophase material is a high temperature ceramic or ceramic composite. Nanophase metals, or nanophase metals with nanophase ceramics in a composite mixture, also have desirable characteristics, although their temperature capability is not as great as with all ceramic nanophase material. Combinations of conventional or nanophase metals and conventional or nanophase ceramics can be employed as long as there is at least one nanophase material in the composite. The nuclear reactor so constructed has a number of high strength fuel particles, a nanophase structural material for supporting a fuel rod at high temperature, a configuration to allow passive cooling in the event of a primary cooling system failure, an ability to retain a coolable geometry even at high temperatures, an ability to resist generation of hydrogen gas, and a configuration having good nuclear, corrosion and mechanical characteristics.

A nuclear reactor core fuel element is composed of nanophase high temperature materials. An array of the fuel elements in rod form are joined in an open geometry fuel cell that preferably also uses such nanophase materials for the cell structures. The particular high temperature nanophase fuel element material must have the appropriate mechanical characteristics to avoid strain related failure even at high temperatures, in the order of about 3000.degree. F. Preferably, the reactor type is a pressurized or boiling water reactor and the nanophase material is a high temperature ceramic or ceramic composite. Nanophase metals, or nanophase metals with nanophase ceramics in a composite mixture, also have desirable characteristics, although their temperature capability is not as great as with all-ceramic nanophase material. Combinations of conventional or nanophase metals and conventional or nanophase ceramics can be employed as long as there is at least one nanophase material in the composite. The nuclear reactor so constructed has a number of high strength fuel particles, a nanophase structural material for supporting a fuel rod at high temperature, a configuration to allow passive cooling in the event of a primary cooling system failure, an ability to retain a coolable geometry even at high temperatures, an ability to resist generation of hydrogen gas, and a configuration having good nuclear, corrosion, and mechanical characteristics.

A nuclear reactor core fuel element is composed of nanophase high temperature materials. An array of the fuel elements in rod form are joined in an open geometry fuel cell that preferably also uses such nanophase materials for the cell structures. The particular high temperature nanophase fuel element material must have the appropriate mechanical characteristics to avoid strain related failure even at high temperatures, in the order of about 3000 F. Preferably, the reactor type is a pressurized or boiling water reactor and the nanophase material is a high temperature ceramic or ceramic composite. Nanophase metals, or nanophase metals with nanophase ceramics in a composite mixture, also have desirable characteristics, although their temperature capability is not as great as with all-ceramic nanophase material. Combinations of conventional or nanophase metals and conventional or nanophase ceramics can be employed as long as there is at least one nanophase material in the composite. The nuclear reactor so constructed has a number of high strength fuel particles, a nanophase structural material for supporting a fuel rod at high temperature, a configuration to allow passive cooling in the event of a primary cooling system failure, an ability to retain a coolable geometry even at high temperatures, an ability to resist generation of hydrogen gas, and a configuration having good nuclear, corrosion, and mechanical characteristics. 5 figs.

The objective of the project was to develop a method for theoretical understanding of nuclearfuel materials whose physical and thermophysical properties can be predicted from first principles using a novel dynamical mean field method for electronic structure calculations. We concentrated our study on uranium, plutonium, their oxides, nitrides, carbides, as well as some rare earth materials whose 4f eletrons provide a simplified framework for understanding complex behavior of the f electrons. We addressed the issues connected to the electronic structure, lattice instabilities, phonon and magnon dynamics as well as thermal conductivity. This allowed us to evaluate characteristics of advanced nuclearfuel systems using computer based simulations and avoid costly experiments.

The papers presented at the seventeenth World NuclearFuels Market meeting are cataloged individually. This volume includes information on the following areas of interest: historical and current aspects of the uranium and plutonium market with respect to supply and demand, pricing, spot market purchasing, and other market phenomena; impact of reprocessing and recycling uranium, plutonium, and mixed oxide fuels; role of individual countries in the market: Hungary, Germany, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, France, and the US; the impact of public opinion and radioactive waste management on the nuclear industry, and a debate regarding long term versus short term contracting by electric utilities for uranium and enrichment services.

A fuel assembly is designed for use in a gas-suspension cooled nuclearfuel reactor. The coolant fluid is an inert gas such as nitrogen or helium with particles such as carbon suspended therein. The fuel assembly is contained within an elongated pressure vessel extending down into the reactor. The fuel portion is at the lower end of the vessel and is constructed of cylindrical segments through which the coolant passes. Turbulence promotors within the passageways maintain the particles in agitation to increase its ability to transfer heat away from the outer walls. Shielding sections and alternating passageways above the fueled portion limit the escape of radiation out of the top of the vessel. (AEC)

A locking device for supporting and locking a nuclearfuel assembly within a cylindrical bore formed by a support plate, the locking device including a support and locking sleeve having upwardly extending fingers forming wedge shaped contact portions arranged for interaction between an annular tapered surface on the fuel assembly and the support plate bore as well as downwardly extending fingers having wedge shaped contact portions arranged for interaction between an annularly tapered surface on the support plate bore and the fuel assembly whereby the sleeve tends to support and lock the fuel assembly in place within the bore by its own weight while facilitating removal and/or replacement of the fuel assembly.

A fuel rack is described for use in storing nuclearfuel assemblies in a nuclearfuel storage pool having a floor on which an upwardly projecting stud is mounted; the fuel rack comprising: a base structure at the lower end of the fuel rack including base-plate means having flow openings therein, the base-plate means supporting a first network of interlaced beams which form a multiplicity of polygonal openings; a second network of interlaced beams forming polygonal openings positioned in spaced vertical alignment with corresponding polygonal openings in the first network of beams; a plurality of cells, each cell having sides bounded by inner and outer surfaces and being of a size and configuration designed to hold therein a fuel assembly, each cell positioned in a corresponding pair of the aligned polygonal openings, each cell being open at both ends with a guiding funnel at the upper end, and the cells being positioned over the flow openings in the base-plate to permit flow of coolant through the cells; spaced, outwardly directed, projections on the outer surfaces of the sides of the cells near the tops and bottoms of the sides thereof, each cell being sized to be received within a corresponding of the pair of aligned polygonal openings in which the cells are respectively positioned; and means fixedly securing the projections to the beams in the first and second networks of beams thereby to provide a substantially rigid fuel rack of modular design.

This article discusses options trading in the nuclearfuels industry. Although there now exists no formal options market in the nuclear industry, flexibilities, or embedded options, are actually quite common in the long-term supply contracts. The value of these flexibilities can be estimated by applying the methods used to evaluate options. The method used is the Black-Scholes Model, and it is applied to a number of examples.

The papers presented at the eighteenth World NuclearFuels Market meeting are cataloged separately. This volume includes information on the following areas of interest: world uranium enrichment capacity and enriched uranium inventories; the impact of new enrichment technologies; predictions of future market trends; non-proliferation aspects of nuclear trade; and a debate as to whether uranium can be successfully traded on a commodities exchange.

This talk will propose a plan to combine nuclear reactors with the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process to produce synthetic carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuels from sea water. These fuels can be formed from the hydrogen and carbon dioxide in sea water and will burn to water and carbon dioxide in a cycle powered by nuclear reactors. The F-T process was developed nearly 100 years ago as a method of synthesizing liquid fuels from coal. This process presently provides commercial liquid fuels in South Africa, Malaysia, and Qatar, mainly using natural gas as a feedstock. Nuclear energy can be used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen as well as to extract carbon dioxide from sea water using ion exchange technology. The carbon dioxide and hydrogen react to form synthesis gas, the mixture needed at the beginning of the F-T process. Following further refining, the products, typically diesel and Jet-A, can use existing infrastructure and can power conventional engines with little or no modification. We can then use these carbon-neutral liquid fuels conveniently long into the future with few adverse environmental impacts.

A new way to produce plasma for nuclear propulsion is proposed. A thin foiled fuel can be used for converting fission energy to propulsion energy efficiently. The fission products coming out of the thin foil directly ionize the hydrogen molecules which are used for propulsion. Thus very small portion of fission energy deposited in the thin foil, and integrity of the thin foiled fuel can be maintained even in high nuclear power. Fuel material with large thermal fission cross-section is preferable to make thin foiled fuel and the heat deposition in the foil can be reduced. To get high power from the foiled fuel assembly, thermal neutrons which are created out from the assembly can be supplied, or the assembly itself can create the high intensity thermal neutrons by self-multiplication. A flexible design of a highly efficient nuclear propulsion system can be made. The thickness of the foil and the maintenance of the thermo-mechanical integrity can be determined from the fission cross-section and the slowing down power for fission products. The talk discusses the issues related to heat removal from the assembly.

Outlines the stages of the nuclearfuel cycle where routine radiation releases occur and where nonroutine releases could occur. Examines the impact of these occurrences and emphasizes the regulations, practices, and technologies that prevail in the United States. (Author/GS)

This document establishes the limits and controls for the significant parameters that could potentially affect the safety and/or quality of the Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) packaged for processing, transport, and storage. The product specifications in this document cover the SNF packaged in Multi-Canister Overpacks to be transported throughout the SNF Project.

This document establishes the limits and controls for the significant parameters that could potentially affect the safety and/or quality of the Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) packaged for processing, transport, and storage. The product specifications in this document cover the SNF packaged in Multi-Canister Overpacks to be transported throughout the SNF Project.

Transportation packages for spent nuclearfuel (SNF) must meet safety requirements under normal and accident conditions as specified by federal regulations. During transportation, SNF experiences unique conditions and challenges to cladding integrity due to the vibrational and impact loading encountered during road or rail shipment. ORNL has been developing testing capabilities that can be used to improve our understanding of the impacts of vibration loading on SNF integrity, especially for high burn-up SNF in normal transportation operation conditions. This information can be used to meet nuclear industry and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs in the area of safety of SNF storage and transportation operations.

The Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) made a FY98 commitment to the Department of Energy (DOE) to recommend a technology for the disposal of aluminum-based spent nuclearfuel (SNF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The two technologies being considered, direct co-disposal and melt and dilute, had been previously selected from a group of eleven potential SNF management technologies by the Research Reactor Spent NuclearFuel Task Team chartered by the DOE''s Office of Spent Fuel Management. To meet this commitment, WSRC organized the SNF Alternative Technology Program to further develop the direct co-disposal and melt and dilute technologies and ultimately provide a WSRC recommendation to DOE on a preferred SNF alternative management technology.

This review of international practices for nuclearfuel reprocessing was prepared to provide a nontechnical summary of the current status of nuclearfuel reprocessing activities around the world. The sources of information are widely varied.

A technique for storing spent fuel rods from a nuclear reactor is disclosed herein. This technique utilizes a housing including a closed inner chamber for containing the fuel rods and a thermally conductive member located partially within the housing chamber and partially outside the housing for transferring heat generated by the fuel rods from the chamber to the ambient surroundings. Particulate material is located within the chamber and surrounds the fuel rods contained therein. This material is selected to serve as a heat transfer media between the contained cells and the heat transferring member and, at the same time, stand ready to fuse into a solid mass around the contained cells if the heat transferring member malfunctions or otherwise fails to transfer the generated heat out of the housing chamber in a predetermined way.

Previous PNNL work has shown the existing nuclearfuel markets to provide a high degree of supply security, including the ability to respond to supply disruptions that occur for technical and non-technical reasons. It is in the context of new reactor designs – that is, reactors likely to be licensed and market ready over the next several decades – that fuel supply security is most relevant. Whereas the fuel design and fabrication technology for existing reactors are well known, the construction of a new set of reactors could stress the ability of the existing market to provide adequate supply redundancy. This study shows this is unlikely to occur for at least thirty years, as most reactors likely to be built in the next three decades will be evolutions of current designs, with similar fuel designs to existing reactors.

Product specifications are limits and controls established for each significant parameter that potentially affects safety and/or quality of the Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) packaged for transport to dry storage. The product specifications in this document cover the spent fuel packaged in MultiCanister Overpacks (MCOs) to be transported throughout the SNF Project. The SNF includes N Reactor fuel and single-pass reactor fuel. The FRS removes the SNF from the storage canisters, cleans it, and places it into baskets. The MCO loading system places the baskets into MCO/Cask assembly packages. These packages are then transferred to the Cold Vacuum Drying (CVD) Facility. After drying at the CVD Facility, the MCO cask packages are transferred to the Canister Storage Building (CSB), where the MCOs are removed from the casks, staged, inspected, sealed (by welding), and stored until a suitable permanent disposal option is implemented. The key criteria necessary to achieve these goals are documented in this specification.

An improved cesium getter 28 is provided in a breeder reactor fuel element or pin in the form of an extended surface area, low density element formed in one embodiment as a helically wound foil 30 located with silicon carbide, and located at the upper end of the fertile material upper blanket 20.

This report presents the current status and projections through 2015 of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries using nuclear power to generate electricity for commercial use. It also contains information and forecasts of developments in the worldwide nuclearfuel market. Long term projections of U.S. nuclear capacity, generation, and spent fuel discharges for two different scenarios through 2040 are developed. A discussion on decommissioning of nuclear power plants is included.

The U.S. DOE Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative’s (AFCI) fundamental objective is to provide technology options that - if implemented - would enable long-term growth of nuclear power while improving sustainability and energy security. The AFCI organization structure consists of four areas; Systems Analysis, Fuels, Separations and Transmutations. The Systems Analysis Working Group is tasked with bridging the program technical areas and providing the models, tools, and analyses required to assess the feasibility of design and deployment options and inform key decision makers. An integral part of the Systems Analysis tool set is the development of a system level model that can be used to examine the implications of the different mixes of reactors, implications of fuel reprocessing, impact of deployment technologies, as well as potential "exit" or "off ramp" approaches to phase out technologies, waste management issues and long-term repository needs. The Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation Model (VISION) is a computer-based simulation model that allows performing dynamic simulations of fuel cycles to quantify infrastructure requirements and identify key trade-offs between alternatives. It is based on the current AFCI system analysis tool "DYMOND-US" functionalities in addition to economics, isotopic decay, and other new functionalities. VISION is intended to serve as a broad systems analysis and study tool applicable to work conducted as part of the AFCI and Generation IV reactor development studies.

A reusable system is described for removably attaching a nuclear reactor fuel rod to a support member. A locking cap is secured to the fuel rod and a locking strip is fastened to the support member. The locking cap has two opposing fingers shaped to form a socket having a body portion. The locking strip has an extension shaped to rigidly attach to the socket's body portion. The locking cap's fingers are resiliently deflectable. For attachment, the locking cap is longitudinally pushed onto the locking strip causing the extension to temporarily deflect open the fingers to engage the socket's body portion. For removal, the process is reversed.

In a nuclearfuel assembly having a coolant conducting or water tube which also retains the spacers in axial position, the fuel rods experience greater axial growth with exposure than the water tube creating a risk that the water tube might become disengaged from the supporting tie plates. An arrangement for preventing such disengagement is described including lengthened end plug shanks for the water tube, a protective boss surrounding the lower end plug shank to protect it from flow induced vibration, a conical seat for the lower end plug and an arrangement for limiting upward movement of the water tube.

A long-life breed-and-burn (B and B) type fast reactor has been investigated from the neutronics points of view. The B and B reactor has the capability to breed the fissile fuels and use the bred fuel in situ in the same reactor. In this work, feasibility of a compact sodium-cooled B and B fast reactor using spent nuclearfuel as blanket material has been studied. In order to derive a compact B and B fast reactor, a tight fuel lattice and relatively large fuelpin are used to achieve high fuel volume fraction. The core is initially loaded with an LEU (Low Enriched Uranium) fuel and a metallic fuel is used in the core. The Monte Carlo depletion has been performed for the core to see the long-term behavior of the B and B reactor. Several important parameters such as reactivity coefficients, delayed neutron fraction, prompt neutron generation lifetime, fission power, and fast neutron fluence, are analyzed through Monte Carlo reactor analysis. Evolution of the core fuel composition is also analyzed as a function of burnup. Although the long-life small B and B fast reactor is found to be feasible from the neutronics point of view, it is characterized to have several challenging technical issues including a very high fast neutron fluence of the structural materials. (authors)

The apparatus of the present invention is a plate of neutron absorbing material. The plate may have a releasable locking feature permitting the plate to be secured within a nuclearfuel assembly between nuclearfuel rods during storage or transportation then removed for further use or destruction. The method of the present invention has the step of placing a plate of neutron absorbing material between nuclearfuel rods within a nuclearfuel assembly, preferably between the two outermost columns of nuclearfuel rods. Additionally, the plate may be releasably locked in place.

The apparatus of the present invention is a plate of neutron absorbing material. The plate may have a releasable locking feature permitting the plate to be secured within a nuclearfuel assembly between nuclearfuel rods during storage or transportation then removed for further use or destruction. The method of the present invention has the step of placing a plate of neutron absorbing material between nuclearfuel rods within a nuclearfuel assembly, preferably between the two outermost columns of nuclearfuel rods. Additionally, the plate may be releasably locked in place.

There has been a renewal of interest in Direct Nuclear Propulsion (DNP) because of the Air Force Forecast II recommendation for the development of the technology. Several nuclear concepts have been proposed to meet the Direct Nuclear Propulsion challenge. In this paper we will present results of an initial study of the potential of a cermet fuelednuclear system in providing the desired DNP capabilities and featuring a set of unique safety characteristics. The concept of cermet fuel for DNP applications was first developed by ANL and GE working independently more than 20 years ago. The two organizations came to several remarkably consistent conclusions. The present work has consisted of collecting a unified set of design parameters from the set of design results produced in the earlier work. The conclusion of this exercise was that a cermet-fueled DNP design looked extremely promising from performance and safety considerations and that it deserves serious consideration when the decision to develop one or more concepts for DNP is made.

Twenty one hundred metric tons of spent nuclearfuel (SNF) are currently stored in the Hanford Site K Basins near the Columbia River. The deteriorating conditions of the fuel and the basins provide engineering and management challenges to assure safe current and future storage. DE and S Hanford, Inc., part of the Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. lead team on the Project Hanford Management Contract, is constructing facilities and systems to move the fuel from current pool storage to a dry interim storage facility away from the Columbia River, and to treat and dispose of K Basins sludge, debris and water. The process starts in K Basins where fuel elements will be removed from existing canisters, washed, and separated from sludge and scrap fuel pieces. Fuel elements will be placed in baskets and loaded into Multi-Canister Overpacks (MCOs) and into transportation casks. The MCO and cask will be transported to the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility, where free water within the MCO will be removed under vacuum at slightly elevated temperatures. The MCOs will be sealed and transported via the transport cask to the Canister Storage Building.

In the 1960's, Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) engines were developed and ground tested capable of yielding isp of up to 900 s at thrusts up to 250 klb. Numerous trade studies have shown that such traditional hydrogen fueled NTR engines can reduce the inertial mass low earth orbit (IMLEO) of lunar missions by 35 percent and Mars missions by 50 to 65 percent. The same personnel and facilities used to revive the hydrogen NTR can also be used to develop NTR engines capable of using indigenous Martian volatiles as propellant. By putting this capacity of the NTR to work in a Mars descent/acent vehicle, the Nuclear rocket using Indigenous Martian Fuel (NIMF) can greatly reduce the IMLEO of a manned Mars mission, while giving the mission unlimited planetwide mobility.

The patent relates to the direct conversion of fission heat to electricity by use of thermionic plasma diodes having fissionable material cathodes, said diodes arranged to form a critical mass in a nuclear reactor. The patent describes a fuel element comprising a plurality of diodes each having a fissionable material cathode, an anode around said cathode, and an ionizable gas therebetween. Provision is made for flowing the gas and current serially through the diodes. (AEC)

To help meet our nation’s energy needs, reprocessing of spent nuclearfuel is being considered more and more as a necessary step in a future nuclearfuel cycle, but incorporating this step into the fuel cycle will require considerable investment. This report presents an evaluation of financing scenarios for reprocessing facilities integrated into the nuclearfuel cycle. A range of options, from fully government owned to fully private owned, was evaluated using a DPL (Dynamic Programming Language) 6.0 model, which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest life-cycle cost, lowest unit cost). Though all business decisions follow similar logic with regard to financing, reprocessing facilities are an exception due to the range of financing options available. The evaluation concludes that lowest unit costs and lifetime costs follow a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. Other financing arrangements, however, including regulated utility ownership and a hybrid ownership scheme, led to acceptable costs, below the Nuclear Energy Agency published estimates. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual capacity led to the greatest fluctuations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; the annual operating costs dominate the government case. It is concluded that to finance the construction and operation of such a facility without government ownership could be feasible with measures taken to mitigate risk, and that factors besides unit costs should be considered (e.g., legal issues, social effects, proliferation concerns) before making a decision on financing strategy.

The assay of nuclear material holdup in fuel manufacturing plants is a laborious but often necessary part of completing the material balance. A range of instruments, standards, and a methodology for assaying holdup has been developed. The objectives of holdup measurement are ascertaining the amount, distribution, and how firmly fixed the SNM is. The purposes are reconciliation of material unbalance during or after a manufacturing campaign or plant decommissioning, to decide security requirements, or whether further recovery efforts are justified.

A nuclear reactor system is described wherein the reactor is the type using a liquid metal fuel, such as a dispersion of fissile material in bismuth. The reactor is designed ln the form of a closed loop having a core sectlon and heat exchanger sections. The liquid fuel is clrculated through the loop undergoing flssion in the core section to produce heat energy and transferrlng this heat energy to secondary fluids in the heat exchanger sections. The fission in the core may be produced by a separate neutron source or by a selfsustained chain reaction of the liquid fuel present in the core section. Additional auxiliary heat exchangers are used in the system to convert water into steam which drives a turbine.

A reusable system for removably attaching the upper end 10of a nuclear reactor duct tube to the lower end 30 of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly handling socket. A transition ring 20, fixed to the duct tube's upper end 10, has an interior-threaded section 22 with a first locking hole segment 24. An adaptor ring 40, fixed to the handling socket's lower end 30 has an outside-threaded section 42 with a second locking hole segment 44. The inside 22 and outside 42 threaded sections match and can be joined so that the first 24 and second 44 locking hole segments can be aligned to form a locking hole. A locking ring 50, with a locking pin 52, slides over the adaptor ring 40 so that the locking pin 52 fits in the locking hole. A swage lock 60 or a cantilever finger lock 70 is formed from the locking cup collar 26 to fit in a matching groove 54 or 56 in the locking ring 50 to prevent the locking ring's locking pin 52 from backing out of the locking hole.

Variable-width ribbon heating elements that provide a chopped-cosine variable heat flux profile have been fabricated for fuelpin simulators used in test loops by the Breeder Reactor Program Thermal-Hydraulic Out-of-Reactor Safety test facility and the Gas-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor-Core Flow Test Loop. Thermal, mechanical, and electrical design considerations are used to derive an analytical expression that precisely describes ribbon contour in terms of the major fabrication parameters. These parameters are used to generate numerical control tapes that control ribbon cutting and winding machines. Infrared scanning techniques are developed to determine the optimum transient thermal profile of the coils and relate this profile to that generated by the coils in completed fuelpin simulators.

For the past two decades, a broad range of research development (R D) programs to establish fast breeder reactor (FBR) system and its associated fuel cycle technology have been pursued by the Power Reactor and NuclearFuel Development Corporation (PNC). Developmental activities for FBR fuel reprocessing technology have been primarily conducted at PNC Tokai Works where many important R D facilities for nuclearfuel cycle are located. These include cold and uranium tests for process equipment development in the Engineering Demonstration Facilities (EDF)-I and II, and laboratory-scale hot tests in the Chemical Processing Facility (CPF) where fuel dissolution and solvent extraction characteristics are being investigated with irradiated FBR fuelpins whose burn-up ranges up to 100,000 MWd/t. An extensive effort has also been made at EDF-III to develop advanced remote technology which enables to increase plant availability and to decrease radiation exposures to the workers in future reprocessing plants. The PNC and the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) entered into the joint collaboration in which the US shares the R Ds to support FBR fuel reprocessing program at the PNC. Several important R Ds on advanced process equipment such as a rotary dissolver and a centrifugal contactor system are in progress in a joint effort with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CFRP). In order to facilitate hot testing on advanced processes and equipment, the design of a new engineering-scale hot test facility is now in progress aiming at the start of hot operation in late 90's. 31 refs., 2 tabs.

Advanced cores and fuel assembly designs have been developed to improve operational flexibility, economic performance and further enhance safety features of nuclear power plants. The simulation of these new designs, along with strong heterogeneous fuel loading, have brought new challenges to the reactor physics methodologies currently employed in the industrial codes for core analyses. Control rod insertion during normal operation is one operational feature in the AP1000{sup R} plant of Westinghouse next generation Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) design. This design improves its operational flexibility and efficiency but significantly challenges the conventional reactor physics methods, especially in pin power calculations. The mixture loading of fuel assemblies with significant neutron spectrums causes a strong interaction between different fuel assembly types that is not fully captured with the current core design codes. To overcome the weaknesses of the conventional methods, Westinghouse has developed a state-of-the-art 3D Pin-by-Pin Calculation Methodology (P3C) and successfully implemented in the Westinghouse core design code ANC. The new methodology has been qualified and licensed for pin power prediction. The 3D P3C methodology along with its application and validation will be discussed in the paper. (authors)

The report on interim storage of spent nuclearfuel discusses the technical, regulatory, and economic aspects of spent-fuel storage at nuclear reactors. The report is intended to provide legislators state officials and citizens in the Midwest with information on spent-fuel inventories, current and projected additional storage requirements, licensing, storage technologies, and actions taken by various utilities in the Midwest to augment their capacity to store spent nuclearfuel on site.

The Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) NuclearFuel Performance code (AMPFuel) is focused on predicting the temperature and strain within a nuclearfuel assembly to evaluate the performance and safety of existing and advanced nuclearfuel bundles within existing and advanced nuclear reactors. AMPFuel was extended to include an integrated nuclearfuel assembly capability for (one-way) coupled radiation transport and nuclearfuel assembly thermo-mechanics. This capability is the initial step toward incorporating an improved predictive nuclearfuel assembly modeling capability to accurately account for source-terms, such as neutron flux distribution, coolant conditions and assembly mechanical stresses, of traditional (single-pin) nuclearfuel performance simulation. A novel scheme is introduced for transferring the power distribution from the Scale/Denovo (Denovo) radiation transport code (structured, Cartesian mesh with smeared materials within each cell) to AMPFuel (unstructured, hexagonal mesh with a single material within each cell), allowing the use of a relatively coarse spatial mesh (10 million elements) for the radiation transport and a fine spatial mesh (3.3 billion elements) for thermo-mechanics with very little loss of accuracy. With this novel capability, AMPFuel was used to model an entire 1717 pressurized water reactor fuel assembly with many of the features resolved in three dimensions (for thermo-mechanics and/or neutronics). A full assembly calculation was executed on Jaguar using 40,000 cores in under 10 hours to model over 160 billion degrees of freedom for 10 loading steps. The single radiation transport calculation required about 50% of the time required to solve the thermo-mechanics with a single loading step, which demonstrates that it is feasible to incorporate, in a single code, a high-fidelity radiation transport capability with a high-fidelity nuclearfuel thermo-mechanics capability and anticipate acceptable computational requirements. The

An improved nuclear fission reactor of the continuous fueling type involves determining an asymptotic equilibrium state for the nuclear fission reactor and providing the reactor with a moderator-to-fuel ratio that is optimally moderated for the asymptotic equilibrium state of the nuclear fission reactor; the fuel-to-moderator ratio allowing the nuclear fission reactor to be substantially continuously operated in an optimally moderated state.

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power system, providing system characterization data and allowing one to work through various fabrication, assembly and integration issues without the cost and time associated with a full ground nuclear test. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclearfuel. Testing with non-optimized heater elements allows one to assess thermal, heat transfer. and stress related attributes of a given system, but fails to demonstrate the dynamic response that would be present in an integrated, fueled reactor system. High fidelity thermal simulators that match both the static and the dynamic fuelpin performance that would be observed in an operating, fuelednuclear reactor can vastly increase the value of non-nuclear test results. With optimized simulators, the integration of thermal hydraulic hardware tests with simulated neutronic response provides a bridge between electrically heated testing and fuelednuclear testing. By implementing a neutronic response model to simulate the dynamic response that would be expected in a fueled reactor system, one can better understand system integration issues, characterize integrated system response times and response characteristics and assess potential design improvements at relatively small fiscal investment. Initial conceptual thermal simulator designs are determined by simple one-dimensional analysis at a single axial location and at steady state conditions; feasible concepts are then input into a detailed three-dimensional model for comparison to expected fuelpin performance. Static and dynamic fuelpin performance for a proposed reactor design is determined using SINDA/FLUINT thermal analysis software, and comparison is made between the expected nuclear performance and the performance of conceptual thermal simulator designs. Through a series of iterative analyses, a conceptual high fidelity design is developed

This study evaluates current capabilities for transporting spent nuclearfuel owned by the US Department of Energy. Currently licensed irradiated fuel shipping packages that have the potential for shipping the spent nuclearfuel are identified and then matched against the various spent nuclearfuel types. Also included are the results of a limited investigation into other certified packages and new packages currently under development. This study is intended to support top-level planning for the disposition of the Department of Energy`s spent nuclearfuel inventory.

This report examines the time-dependent dynamics of transitioning from the current United States (U.S.) nuclearfuel cycle where used nuclearfuel is disposed in a repository to a closed fuel cycle where the used fuel is recycled and only fission products and waste are disposed. The report is intended to help inform policy developers, decision makers, and program managers of system-level options and constraints as they guide the formulation and implementation of advanced fuel cycle development and demonstration efforts and move toward deployment of nuclearfuel recycling infrastructure.

A Research Reactor Spent NuclearFuel Task Team (RRTT) was chartered by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Spent Fuel Management with the responsibility to recommend a course of action leading to a final technology selection for the interim management and ultimate disposition of the foreign and domestic aluminum-based research reactor spent nuclearfuel (SNF) under DOE''s jurisdiction. The RRTT evaluated eleven potential SNF management technologies and recommended that two technologies, direct co-disposal and an isotopic dilution alternative, either press and dilute or melt and dilute, be developed in parallel. Based upon that recommendation, the Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) organized the SNF Alternative Technology Program to further develop the direct co-disposal and melt and dilute technologies and provide a WSRC recommendation to DOE for a preferred SNF alternative management technology. A technology risk assessment was conducted as a first step in this recommendation process to determine if either, or both, of the technologies posed significant risks that would make them unsuitable for further development. This report provides the results of that technology risk assessment.

This is a pyroprocess for processing spent nuclearfuel. The spent nuclearfuel is chopped into pieces and placed in a basket which is lowered in to a liquid salt solution. The salt is rich in ZrF.sub.4 and containing alkali or alkaline earth fluorides, and in particular, the salt chosen was LiF-50 mol % ZrF.sub.4 with a eutectic melting point of 500.degree. C. Prior to lowering the basket, the salt is heated to a temperature of between 550.degree. C. and 700.degree. C. in order to obtain a molten solution. After dissolution the oxides of U, Th, rare earth and other like oxides, the salt bath solution is subject to hydro-fluorination to remove the oxygen and then to a fluorination step to remove U as gaseous UF.sub.6. In addition, after dissolution, the basket contains PuO.sub.2 and undissolved parts of the fuel rods, and the basket and its contents are processed to remove the Pu.

The objective of this research is to collect dynamic experimental data on spent nuclearfuel (SNF) under simulated transportation environments using the Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT), the hot-cell testing technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The collected CIRFT data will be utilized to support ongoing spent fuel modeling activities, and support SNF transportation related licensing issues. Recent testing to understand the effects of hydride reorientation on SNF vibration integrity is also being evaluated. CIRFT results have provided insight into the fuel/clad system response to transportation related loads. The major findings of CIRFT on the HBU SNF are as follows: SNF system interface bonding plays an important role in SNF vibration performance, Fuel structure contributes to the SNF system stiffness, There are significant variations in stress and curvature of SNF systems during vibration cycles resulting from segment pellets and clad interaction, and SNF failure initiates at the pellet-pellet interface region and appears to be spontaneous. Because of the non-homogeneous composite structure of the SNF system, finite element analyses (FEA) are needed to translate the global moment-curvature measurement into local stress-strain profiles. The detailed mechanisms of the pellet-pellet and pellet-clad interactions and the stress concentration effects at the pellet-pellet interface cannot be readily obtained directly from a CIRFT system measurement. Therefore, detailed FEA is used to understand the global test response, and that data will also be presented.

The Global conference is a forum for the discussion of the scientific, technical, social and regulatory aspects of the nuclearfuel cycle. Relevant topics include global utilization of nuclear energy, current fuel cycle technologies, advanced reactors, advanced fuel cycles, nuclear nonproliferation and public acceptance.

A reusable system for removably attaching a nuclear reactor fuel rod (12) to a support member (14). A locking cap (22) is secured to the fuel rod (12) and a locking strip (24) is fastened to the support member (14). The locking cap (22) has two opposing fingers (24a and 24b) shaped to form a socket having a body portion (26). The locking strip has an extension (36) shaped to rigidly attach to the socket's body portion (26). The locking cap's fingers are resiliently deflectable. For attachment, the locking cap (22) is longitudinally pushed onto the locking strip (24) causing the extension (36) to temporarily deflect open the fingers (24a and 24b) to engage the socket's body portion (26). For removal, the process is reversed.

A pool type nuclear fission reactor has a core, with a plurality of core elements and a redan which confines coolant as a hot pool at a first end of the core separated from a cold pool at a second end of the core by the redan. A fuel handling system for use with such reactors comprises a core element storage basket located outside of the redan in the cold pool. An access passage is formed in the redan with a gate for opening and closing the passage to maintain the temperature differential between the hot pool and the cold pool. A mechanism is provided for opening and closing the gate. A lifting arm is also provided for manipulating the fuel core elements through the access passage between the storage basket and the core when the redan gate is open.

A pool type nuclear fission reactor has a core, with a plurality of core elements and a redan which confines coolant as a hot pool at a first end of the core separated from a cold pool at a second end of the core by the redan. A fuel handling system for use with such reactors comprises a core element storage basket located outside of the redan in the cold pool. An access passage is formed in the redan with a gate for opening and closing the passage to maintain the temperature differential between the hot pool and the cold pool. A mechanism is provided for opening and closing the gate. A lifting arm is also provided for manipulating the fuel core elements through the access passage between the storage basket and the core when the redan gate is open.

In nuclearfuel reprocessing, various radioactive elements enter the gas phase from the unit operations found in the reprocessing facility. In previous reports, the pathways and required removal were discussed for four radionuclides known to be volatile, 14C, 3H, 129I, and 85Kr. Other, less volatile isotopes can also report to the off-gas streams in a reprocessing facility. These were reported to be isotopes of Cs, Cd, Ru, Sb, Tc, and Te. In this report, an effort is made to determine which, if any, of 24 semivolatile radionuclides could be released from a reprocessing plant and, if so, what would be the likely quantities released. As part of this study of semivolatile elements, the amount of each generated during fission is included as part of the assessment for the need to control their emission. Also included in this study is the assessment of the cooling time (time out of reactor) before the fuel is processed. This aspect is important for the short-lived isotopes shown in the list, especially for cooling times approaching 10 y. The approach taken in this study was to determine if semivolatile radionuclides need to be included in a list of gas-phase radionuclides that might need to be removed to meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. A list of possible elements was developed through a literature search and through knowledge and literature on the chemical processes in typical aqueous processing of nuclearfuels. A long list of possible radionuclides present in irradiated fuel was generated and then trimmed by considering isotope half-life and calculating the dose from each to a maximum exposed individual with the US EPA airborne radiological dispersion and risk assessment code CAP88 (Rosnick 1992) to yield a short list of elements that actually need to be considered for control because they require high decontamination factors to meet a reasonable fraction of the regulated release. Each of these elements is

The nuclearfuel cycle consists of a series of industrial processes that produce fuel for the production of electricity in nuclear reactors, use the fuel to generate electricity, and subsequently manage the spent reactor fuel. While the physics and engineering of controlled fission are central to the generation of nuclear power, chemistry dominates all other aspects of the nuclearfuel cycle. An understanding of this chemistry is necessary to address the economic, environmental, safety, and proliferation issues that are essential to any substantive evaluation of nuclear power's contribution to the global energy portfolio. This article describes the role of chemistry in each component of the cycle from the metallurgy of uranium to the disposition of spent reactor fuel. It also addresses the economics of the components of the cycle and the costs of nuclear power relative to other sources of energy.

Founded in 1975 by uranium pioneer, Robert W. Adams, Energy FuelsNuclear, Inc. (EFNI) emerged as the largest US uranium mining company by the mid-1980s. Confronting the challenges of declining uranium market prices and the development of high-grade ore bodies in Australia and Canada, EFNI aggressively pursued exploration and development of breccia-pipe ore bodies in Northwestern Arizona. As a result, EFNI's production for the Arizona Strip of 18.9 million pounds U[sub 3]O[sub 8] over the period 1980 through 1991, maintained the company's status as a leading US uranium producer.

The DOE Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Container (SNF DC) supports the confinement and isolation of waste within the Engineered Barrier System of the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS). Disposal containers are loaded and sealed in the surface waste handling facilities, transferred to the underground through the access mains, and emplaced in emplacement drifts. The DOE Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Container provides long term confinement of DOE SNF waste, and withstands the loading, transfer, emplacement, and retrieval loads and environments. The DOE SNF Disposal Containers provide containment of waste for a designated period of time, and limit radionuclide release thereafter. The disposal containers maintain the waste in a designated configuration, withstand maximum handling and rockfall loads, limit the individual waste canister temperatures after emplacement. The disposal containers also limit the introduction of moderator into the disposal container during the criticality control period, resist corrosion in the expected repository environment, and provide complete or limited containment of waste in the event of an accident. Multiple disposal container designs may be needed to accommodate the expected range of DOE Spent NuclearFuel. The disposal container will include outer and inner barrier walls and outer and inner barrier lids. Exterior labels will identify the disposal container and contents. Differing metal barriers will support the design philosophy of defense in depth. The use of materials with different failure mechanisms prevents a single mode failure from breaching the waste package. The corrosion-resistant inner barrier and inner barrier lid will be constructed of a high-nickel alloy and the corrosion-allowance outer barrier and outer barrier lid will be made of carbon steel. The DOE Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Containers interface with the emplacement drift environment by transferring heat from the waste to the external environment and by protecting

A literature review and analysis were made of corrosion and degradation processes applicable to Zircaloy cladding on spent nuclearfuel in a tuff repository. In particular, lifetime sought for the Zircaloy is 10,000 years. Among the potential failure mechanisms examined were: oxidation by steam, air, and water, including the effects of ions whose presence is anticipated in the water; mechanical overload; stress (creep) rupture; stress-corrosion cracking (SCC); and delayed failure due to hydride cracking. The conclusion is that failure due to oxidation is not credible, although a few experiments are suggested to confirm the effect of aqueous fluoride on the Zircaloy cladding. Mechanical overload is not a problem, and failure from stress-rupture does not appear likely based on a modified Larson-Miller analysis. Analysis shows that delayed hydride cracking is not anticipated for the bulk of spent fuelpins. However, for a minority of pins under high stress, there is some uncertainty in the analysis as a result of: (1) uncertainty about crack depths in spent fuel claddings and (2) the effect of slow cooling on the formation of radially oriented hydride precipitates. Experimental resolution is called for. Finally, insufficient information is currently available on stress-corrosion cracking. While evidence is presented that SCC failure is not likely to occur, it is difficult to demonstrate this conclusively because the process is not clearly understood and data are limited. Further experimental work on SCC susceptibility is especially needed.

The International Fuel Cycle Fact Book has been compiled in an effort to provide (1) an overview of worldwide nuclear power and fuel cycle programs and (2) current data concerning fuel cycle and waste management facilities, R and D programs and key personnel. Additional information on each country's program is available in the International Source Book: NuclearFuel Cycle Research and Development, PNL-2478, Rev. 2.

Nuclearfuel rods, especially spent nuclearfuel rods that may show physical distortion, are encased within a metallic enclosing structure by forming a tube about the fuel rod. The tube has previously been rolled to form an overlapping tubular structure and then unrolled and coiled about an axis perpendicular to the tube. The fuel rod is inserted into the tube as the rolled tube is removed from a coiled strip and allowed to reassume its tubular shape about the fuel rod. Rollers support the coiled strip in an open position as the coiled strip is uncoiled and allowed to roll about the fuel rod.

Assessment of hydrogen uptake of underwater nuclearfuel clad and component materials will enable improved monitoring of fuel health. Zirconium alloys are used in nuclear reactors as fuel cladding, fuel channels, guide tubes and spacer grids, and are available for inspection in spent fuel pools. With increasing reactor exposure zirconium alloys experience hydrogen ingress due to neutron interactions and water-side corrosion that is not easily quantified without destructive hot cell examination. Contact and non-contact nondestructive techniques, using Seebeck coefficient measurements and low frequency impedance spectroscopy, to assess the hydrogen content and hydride formation within zircaloy 4 material that are submerged to simulate spent fuel pools are presented.

A subassembly for use in a nuclear reactor is described which incorporates a loose bundle of fuel or irradiation pins enclosed within an inner tube which in turn is enclosed within an outer coolant tube and includes a locking comb consisting of a head extending through one side of the inner sleeve and a plurality of teeth which extend through the other side of the inner sleeve while engaging annular undercut portions in the bottom portion of the fuel or irradiation pins to prevent movement of the pins.

An optical scanner for indicia arranged in a focal plane at a cylindrical outside surface by use of an optical system including a rotatable dove prism. The dove prism transmits a rotating image of an encircled cylindrical surface area to a stationary photodiode array.

Excessive fuel assembly vibrations in nuclear reactor cores should be avoided in order not to compromise the lifetime of the assembly and in order to prevent the occurrence of safety hazards. This issue is particularly relevant to new reactor designs that use liquid metal coolants, such as, for example, a molten lead-bismuth eutectic. The flow of molten heavy metal around and through the fuel assembly may cause the latter to vibrate and hence suffer degradation as a result of, for example, fretting wear or mechanical fatigue. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of optical fiber sensors to measure the fuel assembly vibration in a lead-bismuth eutectic cooled installation which can be used as input to assess vibration-related safety hazards. We show that the vibration characteristics of the fuelpins in the fuel assembly can be experimentally determined with minimal intrusiveness and with high precision owing to the small dimensions and properties of the sensors. In particular, we were able to record local strain level differences of about 0.2 μϵ allowing us to reliably estimate the vibration amplitudes and modal parameters of the fuel assembly based on optical fiber sensor readings during different stages of the operation of the facility, including the onset of the coolant circulation and steady-state operation. PMID:27110782

There are different types of pin-cleaning solutions. The two most common solutions are: Sterile water A mixture of half normal saline and half hydrogen peroxide Use the solution that your surgeon recommends. Supplies you will need to ...

Nuclear reactor fuel elements have burnups that are an order of magnitude higher than can currently be achieved by conventional design practice. Elements have greater time integrated power producing capacity per unit volume. Element design concept capitalizes on known design principles and observed behavior of nuclearfuel.

A separator assembly for use in a spent nuclearfuel shipping cask has a honeycomb-type wall structure defining parallel cavities for holding nuclearfuel assemblies. Tubes formed of an effective neutron-absorbing material are embedded in the wall structure around each of the cavities and provide neutron flux traps when filled with water.

This paper provides an overview of the friction bonding process, a novel modification of the more conventional friction stir welding process. The process has been modified to enable the fabrication of plate-type nuclearfuels for the conversion of research and test reactors currently operating using highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium. Discussions related to the specific modifications of the friction bonding process have been provided, in addition to challenges associated with these modifications. Progression of the process and solutions to the challenges are provided so that users of the friction stir welding process and those investigating fabrication of other laminar composites, where joining of one or more layers is essential, might draw from the authors’ experiences discussed in this paper.

The purpose of this report is to present an historic overview of commercial reactor spent nuclearfuel (SNF) shipments that have occurred in the state of Nevada, and to review the accident and incident experience for this type of shipments. Results show that between 1964 and 1990, 309 truck shipments covering approximately 40,000 miles moved through Nevada; this level of activity places Nevada tenth among the states in the number of truck shipments of SNF. For the same period, 15 rail shipments moving through the State covered approximately 6,500 miles, making Nevada 20th among the states in terms of number of rail shipments. None of these shipments had an accident or an incident associated with them. Because the data for Nevada are so limited, national data on SNF transportation and the safety of truck and rail transportation in general were also assessed.

A lattice-type fissionable fuel structure for a nuclear reactor is offered. The fissionable material is formed into a plurality of rod-like bodies each encased in a fluid-tight jacket. A plurality of spaced longitudinal fins are mounted on the exterior of and extend radially from each jacket, and a portion of the fins extends radially beyond the remainder of the fins. A collar of short lengih for each body is mounted on the extended fins for spacing the bodies, and adjacent bodies abut each other through these collars. Should distortion of the bodies take place, collapse of the outer fins is limited by the shorter fins thereby insuring some coolant flow therethrough at all times.

A lattice type fissionable fuel structure for a nuclear reactor is described. The fissionable material is formed into a plurality of rod-llke bodies with each encased in a fluid-tight jacket. A plurality of spaced longitudinal fins are mounted on the exterior and extend radially from each jacket, with a portion of the fins extending radially beyond the remainder of the fins. A collar of short length for each body is mounted on the extended fins for spacing the bodies, and adjacent bodies abut each other through these collars. Should distortion of the bodies take place, coilapse of the outer fins is limited by the shorter flns, thereby insuring some coolant flow at all times. (AEC)

Reprocessing of spent nuclearfuel (SNF) at the Hanford Site Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX) was terminated in 1972. Since that time a significant quantity of N Reactor and Single-Pass Reactor SNF has been stored in the 100 Area K-East (KE) and K-West (KW) reactor basins. Approximately 80% of all US Department of Energy (DOE)-owned SNF resides at Hanford, the largest portion of which is in the water-filled KE and KW reactor basins. The basins were not designed for long-term storage of the SNF and it has become a priority to move the SNF to a more suitable location. As part of the project plan, SNF inventories will be chemically and physically characterized to provide information that will be used to resolve safety and technical issues for development of an environmentally benign and efficient extended interim storage and final disposition strategy for this defense production-reactor SNF.

The Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) project technical databook provides project-approved summary tables of selected parameters and derived physical quantities, with nominal design and safety basis values. It contains the parameters necessary for a complete documentation basis of the SNF Project technical and safety baseline. The databook is presented in two volumes. Volume 1 presents K Basins SNF related information. Volume 2 (not yet available) will present selected sludge and water information, as it relates to the sludge and water removal projects. The values, within this databook, shall be used as the foundation for analyses, modeling, assumptions, or other input to SNF project safety analyses or design. All analysis and modeling using a parameter available in this databook are required to use and cite the appropriate associated value, and document any changes to those values (i.e., analysis assumptions, equipment conditions, etc). Characterization and analysis efforts are ongoing to validate, or update these values.

The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) process is used to quantitatively assess the maturity of a given technology. The TRL process has been developed and successfully used by the Department of Defense (DOD) for development and deployment of new technology and systems for defense applications. In addition, NASA has also successfully used the TRL process to develop and deploy new systems for space applications. Advanced nuclearfuels and materials development is a critical technology needed for closing the nuclearfuel cycle. Because the deployment of a new nuclearfuel forms requires a lengthy and expensive research, development, and demonstration program, applying the TRL concept to the advanced fuel development program is very useful as a management and tracking tool. This report provides definition of the technology readiness level assessment process as defined for use in assessing nuclearfuel technology development for the Advanced Fuel Campaign (AFC).

Aluminum and stainless steel coupons were put into a nuclearfuel basin to monitor the effect of water chemistry on the corrosion of fuel cladding. These coupons have been monitored for over ten years. The corrosion and pitting data is being used to model the kinetics and estimate the damage that is occurring to the fuel cladding.

A method of preparing a fuel element for a nuclear reactor is given in which an internally and externally cooled fuel element consisting of two coaxial tubes having a plurality of integral radial ribs extending between the tubes and containing a powdered fuel material is isostatically pressed to form external coolant channels and compact the powder simultaneously.

An alternative design concept for nuclear thermal rocket engines for interplanetary spacecraft calls for the use of grooved-ring fuel elements. Beyond spacecraft rocket engines, this concept also has potential for the design of terrestrial and spacecraft nuclear electric-power plants. The grooved ring fuel design attempts to retain the best features of the particle bed fuel element while eliminating most of its design deficiencies. In the grooved ring design, the hydrogen propellant enters the fuel element in a manner similar to that of the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) fuel element.

The K East and K West Basins, built in the early 1950s, have been used to store irradiated nuclearfuel from the Hanford N Reactor. This fuel, which is referred to as spent nuclearfuel (SNF), has been stored underwater since 1975 in KE Basin and since 1981 in KW Basin. There are 54,000 N Reactor fuel assemblies in 3,800 canisters in the K West Basin, and 51,000 fuel assemblies in 3,700 canisters in the K East Basin that total 2,100 metric tons of SNF.

This analysis report presents the current status and projections of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries in the world using nuclear power to generate electricity for commercial use. Long-term projections of US nuclear capacity, generation, fuel cycle requirements, and spent fuel discharges for three different scenarios through 2030 are provided in support of the Department of Energy`s activities pertaining to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987). The projections of uranium requirements also support the Energy Information Administration`s annual report, Domestic Uranium Mining and Milling Industry: Viability Assessment.

Spent NuclearFuel Discharges from US Reactors 1994 provides current statistical data on fuel assemblies irradiated at commercial nuclear reactors operating in the US. This year`s report provides data on the current inventories and storage capacities at these reactors. Detailed statistics on the data are presented in four chapters that highlight 1994 spent fuel discharges, storage capacities and inventories, canister and nonfuel component data, and assembly characteristics. Five appendices, a glossary, and bibliography are also included. 10 figs., 34 tabs.

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide guidance on how to calculate the characteristics of releases of radioactive materials and/or hazardous chemicals from nonreactor nuclear facilities. In addition, the Handbook provides guidance on how to calculate the consequences of those releases. There are four major chapters: Hazard Evaluation and Scenario Development; Source Term Determination; Transport Within Containment/Confinement; and Atmospheric Dispersion and Consequences Modeling. These chapters are supported by Appendices, including: a summary of chemical and nuclear information that contains descriptions of various fuel cycle facilities; details on how to calculate the characteristics of source terms for releases of hazardous chemicals; a comparison of NRC, EPA, and OSHA programs that address chemical safety; a summary of the performance of HEPA and other filters; and a discussion of uncertainties. Several sample problems are presented: a free-fall spill of powder, an explosion with radioactive release; a fire with radioactive release; filter failure; hydrogen fluoride release from a tankcar; a uranium hexafluoride cylinder rupture; a liquid spill in a vitrification plant; and a criticality incident. Finally, this Handbook includes a computer model, LPF No.1B, that is intended for use in calculating Leak Path Factors. A list of contributors to the Handbook is presented in Chapter 6. 39 figs., 35 tabs.

In nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) measurements, resonances are excited by an external photon beam leading to the emission of gamma rays with specific energies that are characteristic of the emitting isotope. NRF promises the unique capability of directly quantifying a specific isotope without the need for unfolding the combined responses of several fissile isotopes as is required in other measurement techniques. We have analyzed the potential of NRF as a non-destructive analysis technique for quantitative measurements of Pu isotopes in spent nuclearfuel (SNF). Given the low concentrations of 239Pu in SNF and its small integrated NRF cross sections, the main challenge in achieving precise and accurate measurements lies in accruing sufficient counting statistics in a reasonable measurement time. Using analytical modeling, and simulations with the radiation transport code MCNPX that has been experimentally tested recently, the backscatter and transmission methods were quantitatively studied for differing photon sources and radiation detector types. Resonant photon count rates and measurement times were estimated for a range of photon source and detection parameters, which were used to determine photon source and gamma-ray detector requirements. The results indicate that systems based on a bremsstrahlung source and present detector technology are not practical for high-precision measurements of 239Pu in SNF. Measurements that achieve the desired uncertainties within hour-long measurements will either require stronger resonances, which may be expressed by other Pu isotopes, or require quasi-monoenergetic photon sources with intensities that are approximately two orders of magnitude higher than those currently being designed or proposed.This work is part of a larger effort sponsored by the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative to develop an integrated instrument, comprised of individual NDA techniques with complementary features, that is fully capable of

The development of non-destructive assay (NDA) capabilities to directly measure the fissile content in spent fuel is needed to improve the timely detection of the diversion of significant quantities of fissile material. Currently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not have effective NDA methods to verify spent fuel and recover continuity of knowledge in the event of a containment and surveillance systems failure. This issue has become increasingly critical with the worldwide expansion of nuclear power, adoption of enhanced safeguards criteria for spent fuel verification, and recent efforts by the IAEA to incorporate an integrated safeguards regime. In order to address these issues, the use of Self-Interrogation Neutron Resonance Densitometry (SINRD) has been developed to improve existing nuclear safeguards and material accountability measurements. The following characteristics of SINRD were analyzed: (1) ability to measure the fissile content in Light Water Reactors (LWR) fuel assemblies and (2) sensitivity and penetrability of SINRD to the removal of fuelpins from an assembly. The Monte Carlo Neutral Particle eXtended (MCNPX) transport code was used to simulate SINRD for different geometries. Experimental measurements were also performed with SINRD and were compared to MCNPX simulations of the experiment to verify the accuracy of the MCNPX model of SINRD. Based on the results from these simulations and measurements, we have concluded that SINRD provides a number of improvements over current IAEA verification methods. These improvements include: (1) SINRD provides absolute measurements of burnup independent of the operator's declaration. (2) SINRD is sensitive to pin removal over the entire burnup range and can verify the diversion of 6% of fuelpins within 3o from LWR spent LEU and MOX fuel. (3) SINRD is insensitive to the boron concentration and initial fuel enrichment and can therefore be used at multiple spent fuel storage facilities. (4) The

A fuel element design to facilitate breeding reactor fuel is described. The fuel element is comprised of a coatainer, a central core of fertile material in the container, a first bonding material surrounding the core, a sheet of fissionable material immediately surrounding the first bonding material, and a second bonding material surrounding the fissionable material and being in coniact with said container.

Two abutting members are locked together by reaming a hole entirely through one member and at least partly through the other, machining a circular groove in each through hole just below the surface of the member, press fitting a dowel pin having a thin wall extension on at least one end thereof into the hole in both members, a thin wall extension extending into each through hole, crimping or snapping the thin wall extension into the grooves to positively lock the dowel pin in place and, if necessary, tack welding the end of the thin-wall extension in place.

Porous nuclearfuel elements for use in advanced high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR's), and to processes for fabricating them. Advanced uranium bi-carbide, uranium tri-carbide and uranium carbonitride nuclearfuels can be used. These fuels have high melting temperatures, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to erosion by hot hydrogen gas. Tri-carbide fuels, such as (U,Zr,Nb)C, can be fabricated using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to simultaneously deposit each of the three separate carbides, e.g., UC, ZrC, and NbC in a single CVI step. By using CVI, the nuclearfuel may be deposited inside of a highly porous skeletal structure made of, for example, reticulated vitreous carbon foam.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) administers the NuclearFuel Data Survey, Form RW-859. This form is used to collect data on fuel assemblies irradiated at commercial nuclear reactors operating in the United States, and the current inventories and storage capacities of those reactors. These data are important to the design and operation of the equipment and facilities that DOE will use for the future acceptance, transportation, and disposal of spent fuels. The data collected and presented identifies trends in burnup, enrichment, and spent nuclearfuel discharged form commercial light-water reactor as of December 31, 1993. The document covers not only spent nuclearfuel discharges; but also site capacities and inventories; canisters and nonfuel components; and assembly type characteristics.

This report fulfills the M2 milestone M2FT-13PN0912022, “Stranded Sites De-Inventorying Report.” In January 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used NuclearFuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (DOE 2013). Among the elements contained in this strategy is an initial focus on accepting used nuclearfuel from shutdown reactor sites. This focus is consistent with the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, which identified removal of stranded used nuclearfuel at shutdown sites as a priority so that these sites may be completely decommissioned and put to other beneficial uses (BRC 2012). Shutdown sites are defined as those commercial nuclear power reactor sites where the nuclear power reactors have been shut down and the site has been decommissioned or is undergoing decommissioning. In this report, a preliminary evaluation of removing used nuclearfuel from 12 shutdown sites was conducted. The shutdown sites were Maine Yankee, Yankee Rowe, Connecticut Yankee, Humboldt Bay, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Trojan, La Crosse, Zion, Crystal River, Kewaunee, and San Onofre. These sites have no other operating nuclear power reactors at their sites and have also notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that their reactors have permanently ceased power operations and that nuclearfuel has been permanently removed from their reactor vessels. Shutdown reactors at sites having other operating reactors are not included in this evaluation.

A new acoustical sensing system for the nuclear power industry has been developed at The Pennsylvania State University in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratories. This sensor uses the high temperatures of nuclearfuel to convert a nuclearfuel rod into a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine. When a standing wave is generated, the sound wave within the fuel rod will be propagated, by acoustic radiation, through the cooling fluid within the reactor or spent fuel pool and can be monitored a remote location external to the reactor. The frequency of the sound can be correlated to an effective temperature of either the fuel or the surrounding coolant. We will present results for a thermoacoustic resonator built into a Nitonic-60 (stainless steel) fuel rod that requires only one passive component and no heat exchangers.

The process for removal of Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) from the K Basins has been divided into major sub-systems. The Fuel Retrieval System (FRS) removes fuel from the existing storage canisters, cleans it, and places it into baskets. The multi-canister overpack (MCO) loading system places the baskets into an MCO that has been pre-loaded in a cask. The cask, containing a loaded MCO, is then transferred to the Cold Vacuum Drying (CVD) Facility. After drying at the CVD Facility, the cask, and MCO, are transferred to the Canister Storage Building (CSB), where the MCO is removed from the cask, staged, inspected, sealed (by welding), and stored until a suitable permanent disposal option is implemented. The purpose of this document is to specify the process related characteristics of an MCO at the interface between major process systems. The characteristics are derived from the primary technical documents that form the basis for safety analysis and design calculations. This document translates the calculation assumptions into implementation requirements and describes the method of verifying that the requirement is achieved. These requirements are used to define validation test requirements and describe requirements that influence multiple sub-project safety analysis reports. This product specification establishes limits and controls for each significant process parameter at interfaces between major sub-systems that potentially affect the overall safety and/or quality of the SNF packaged for processing, transport, and interim dry storage. The product specifications in this document cover the SNF packaged in MCOs to be transported throughout the SNF Project. The description of the product specifications are organized in the document as follows: Section 2.0--Summary listing of product specifications at each major sub-system interface. Section 3.0--Summary description providing guidance as to how specifications are complied with by equipment design or processing within a major

Ensuring the integrity of fuel-clad and clad-clad bonding in nuclearfuels is important for safe reactor operation and assessment of fuel performance, yet the measurement of bond strengths in actual fuels has proved challenging. The laser shockwave technique (LST) originally developed to characterize structural adhesion in composites is being employed to characterize interface strength in a new type of plate fuel being developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large-amplitude acoustic waves and is well suited for application to both fresh and irradiated nuclear-fuel plates. This paper will report on initial characterization results obtained from fresh fuel plates manufactured by different processes, including hot isostatic pressing, friction stir welding, and hot rolling.

Ensuring the integrity of fuel-clad and clad-clad bonding in nuclearfuels is important for safe reactor operation and assessment of fuel performance, yet the measurement of bond strengths in actual fuels has proved challenging. The laser shockwave technique (LST) originally developed to characterize structural adhesion in composites is being employed to characterize interface strength in a new type of plate fuel being developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large-amplitude acoustic waves and is well suited for application to both fresh and irradiated nuclear-fuel plates. This paper will report on initial characterization results obtained from fresh fuel plates manufactured by different processes, including hot isostatic pressing, friction stir welding, and hot rolling.

Used nuclearfuel from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) was recently transferred to the Idaho National Laboratory and processed by pyroprocessing in the Fuel Conditioning Facility. Approximately 213 kg of uranium from sodium-bonded metallic FFTF fuel was processed over a one year period with the equipment previously used for the processing of EBR-II used fuel. The peak burnup of the FFTF fuel ranged from 10 to 15 atom% for the 900+ chopped elements processed. Fifteen low-enriched uranium ingots were cast following the electrorefining and distillation operations to recover approximately 192 kg of uranium. A material balance on the primary fuel constituents, uranium and zirconium, during the FFTF campaign will be presented along with a brief description of operating parameters. Recoverable uranium during the pyroprocessing of FFTF nuclearfuel was greater than 95% while the purity of the final electrorefined uranium products exceeded 99%.

Used nuclearfuel from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) was recently transferred to the Idaho National Laboratory and processed by pyroprocessing in the Fuel Conditioning Facility. Approximately 213 kg of uranium from sodium-bonded metallic FFTF fuel was processed over a one year period with the equipment previously used for the processing of EBR-II used fuel. The peak burnup of the FFTF fuel ranged from 10 to 15 atom% for the 900+ chopped elements processed. Fifteen low-enriched uranium ingots were cast following the electrorefining and distillation operations to recover approximately 192 kg of uranium. A material balance on the primary fuel constituents, uranium and zirconium, during the FFTF campaign will be presented along with a brief description of operating parameters. Recoverable uranium during the pyroprocessing of FFTF nuclearfuel was greater than 95% while the purity of the final electro-refined uranium products exceeded 99%. (authors)

Nuclearfuel alloys or mixtures and methods of making nuclearfuel mixtures are provided. Pseudo-binary actinide-M fuel mixtures form alloys and exhibit: body-centered cubic solid phases at low temperatures; high solidus temperatures; and/or minimal or no reaction or inter-diffusion with steel and other cladding materials. Methods described herein through metallurgical and thermodynamics advancements guide the selection of amounts of fuel mixture components by use of phase diagrams. Weight percentages for components of a metallic additive to an actinide fuel are selected in a solid phase region of an isothermal phase diagram taken at a temperature below an upper temperature limit for the resulting fuel mixture in reactor use. Fuel mixtures include uranium-molybdenum-tungsten, uranium-molybdenum-tantalum, molybdenum-titanium-zirconium, and uranium-molybdenum-titanium systems.

A process is claimed of recycling protactinium-231 to enhance the utilization of radioactively hot uranium-232 in nuclearfuel for the purpose of making both fresh and spent fuel more resistant to proliferation. The uranium-232 may be obtained by the irradiation of protactinium-231 which is normally found in the spent fuel rods of a thorium base nuclear reactor. The production of protactinium-231 and uranium-232 would be made possible by the use of the thorium uranium-233 fuel cycle in power reactors.

A process of recycling protactinium-231 to enhance the utilization of radioactively hot uranium-232 in nuclearfuel for the purpose of making both fresh and spent fuel more resistant to proliferation. The uranium-232 may be obtained by the irradiation of protactinium-231 which is normally found in the spent fuel rods of a thorium base nuclear reactor. The production of protactinium-231 and uranium-232 would be made possible by the use of the thorium uranium-233 fuel cycle in power reactors.

A comprehensive study was recently completed at the request of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) to evaluate and screen nuclearfuel cycles. The final report was issued in October 2014. Uranium- and thorium-based fuel cycles were evaluated using both fast and thermal spectrum reactors. Once-through, limited-recycle, and continuous-recycle cases were considered. This study used nine evaluation criteria to identify promising fuel cycles. Nuclear waste management was one of the nine evaluation criteria. The waste generation criterion from this study is discussed herein.

As a nation develops its nuclear strategies, it must consider various aspects of nuclear energy such as sustainability, environmental-friendliness, proliferation-resistance, economics, technologies, and so on. Like all the policy decision, however, a nuclearfuel cycle option can not be superior in all aspects; the nation must identify its top priority and accordingly evaluate all the possible nuclearfuel cycle options. For such a purpose, this paper takes four different fuel cycle options that are likely adopted by the Korean government, considering the current status of nuclear power generation and the 3. Comprehensive Nuclear Energy Promotion Plan (CNEPP) - Once-through Cycle, DUPIC Recycle, Thermal Recycle and GEN-IV Recycle. The paper then evaluates each option in terms of resource utilization and waste generation. The analysis shows that the GEN-IV Recycle appears to be most competitive from these aspects. (authors)

This paper describes the process of retrieving, repackaging, and preparing Oak Ridge spent nuclearfuel (SNF) for off-site disposition. The objective of the Oak Ridge SNF Project is to safely, reliably, and efficiently manage SNF that is stored on the Oak Ridge Reservation until it can be shipped off-site. The project required development of several unique processes and the design and fabrication of special equipment to enable the successful retrieval, transfer, and repackaging of Oak Ridge SNF. SNF was retrieved and transferred to a hot cell for repackaging. After retrieval of SNF packages, the storage positions were decontaminated and stainless steel liners were installed to resolve the vulnerability of water infiltration. Each repackaged SNF canister has been transferred from the hot cell back to dry storage until off-site shipments can be made. Three shipments of aluminum-clad SNF were made to the Savannah River Site (SRS), and five shipments of non-aluminum-clad SNF are planned to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). Through the integrated cooperation of several organizations including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC (BJC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and various subcontractors, preparations for the disposition of SNF in Oak Ridge have been performed in a safe and successful manner.

A method is disclosed for making a fuel pellet for a nuclear reactor. A mixture is prepared of PuO.sub.2 and UO.sub.2 powders, where the mixture contains at least about 30% PuO.sub.2, and where at least about 12% of the Pu is the Pu.sup.240 isotope. To this mixture is added about 0.3 to about 5% of a binder having a melting point of at least about 250.degree. F. The mixture is pressed to form a slug and the slug is granulated. Up to about 4.7% of a lubricant having a melting point of at least about 330.degree. F. is added to the granulated slug. Both the binder and the lubricant are selected from a group consisting of polyvinyl carboxylate, polyvinyl alcohol, naturally occurring high molecular weight cellulosic polymers, chemically modified high molecular weight cellulosic polymers, and mixtures thereof. The mixture is pressed to form a pellet and the pellet is sintered.

Current International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards do not provide adequate protection against the diversion to military use of materials or technology from certain types of sensitive nuclearfuel cycle facilities. In view of highly enriched uranium’s relatively greater ease of use as a nuclear explosive material than plutonium and the significant diseconomies of commercial spent fuel reprocessing, this article focuses on the need for improved international controls over uranium enrichment facilities as the proximate justification for creation of an International NuclearFuel Cycle Association (INFCA). In principle, the proposal is equally applicable to alleviating the proliferation concerns provoked by nuclearfuel reprocessing plants and other sensitive nuclearfuel cycle facilities. The INFCA would provide significantly increased nonproliferation assurance to its member states and the wider international community by holding long-term leasehold contracts to operate secure restricted zones containing such sensitive nuclear facilities.

Proposed self-locking pull pin not accidentally released by shock or vibration but intentionally released by pull on lanyard. Any rotational movement of main pin traps secondary pin: prevents further rotation and disengagement of main pin.

An improved fuel assembly grid spacer and method of retaining the basic fuel rod support elements in position within the fuel assembly containment channel. The improvement involves attachment of the grids to the hexagonal channel and of forming the basic fuel rod support element into a grid structure, which provides a design which is insensitive to potential channel distortion (ballooning) at high fluence levels. In addition the improved method eliminates problems associated with component fabrication and assembly.

This report presents an evaluation of the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) from recycling an initial batch of 800 t/y of used nuclearfuel (UNF) through a Recycle Center under a number of different fuel cycle scenarios. The study assumed that apart from the original 800 t of UNF only depleted uranium was available as a feed. Therefore for each subsequent scenario only fuel that was derived from the previous fuel cycle scenario was considered. The scenarios represent a good cross section of the options available and the results contained in this paper and associated appendices will allow for other fuel cycle options to be considered.

Neutron radiography of irradiated nuclearfuel provides more comprehensive information about the internal condition of irradiated nuclearfuel than any other non-destructive technique to date. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has multiple nuclearfuels research and development programs that routinely evaluate irradiated fuels using neutron radiography. The Neutron Radiography reactor (NRAD) sits beneath a shielded hot cell facility where neutron radiography and other evaluation techniques are performed on these highly radioactive objects. The NRAD currently uses the foil-film transfer technique for imaging fuel that is time consuming but provides high spatial resolution. This study describes the NRAD and hot cell facilities,more » the current neutron radiography capabilities available at INL, planned upgrades to the neutron imaging systems, and new facilities being brought online at INL related to neutron imaging.« less

Neutron radiography of irradiated nuclearfuel provides more comprehensive information about the internal condition of irradiated nuclearfuel than any other non-destructive technique to date. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has multiple nuclearfuels research and development programs that routinely evaluate irradiated fuels using neutron radiography. The Neutron Radiography reactor (NRAD) sits beneath a shielded hot cell facility where neutron radiography and other evaluation techniques are performed on these highly radioactive objects. The NRAD currently uses the foil-film transfer technique for imaging fuel that is time consuming but provides high spatial resolution. This study describes the NRAD and hot cell facilities, the current neutron radiography capabilities available at INL, planned upgrades to the neutron imaging systems, and new facilities being brought online at INL related to neutron imaging.

Neutron radiography of irradiated nuclearfuel provides more comprehensive information about the internal condition of irradiated nuclearfuel than any other non-destructive technique to date. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has multiple nuclearfuels research and development programs that routinely evaluate irradiated fuels using neutron radiography. The Neutron Radiography reactor (NRAD) sits beneath a shielded hot cell facility where neutron radiography and other evaluation techniques are performed on these highly radioactive objects. The NRAD currently uses the foil-film transfer technique for imaging fuel that is time consuming but provides high spatial resolution. This paper describes the NRAD and hot cell facilities, the current neutron radiography capabilities available at INL, planned upgrades to the neutron imaging systems, and new facilities being brought online at INL related to neutron imaging.

A nuclear reactor fuel element having improved heat transfer between fuel material and cladding is described. The element consists of an outer cladding tube divided into an upper fuel section containing a central core of fissionable or mixed fissionable and fertile fuel material, slightly smaller in diameter than the inner surface of the cladding tube and a small lower accumulator section, the cladding tube being which is filled with a low molecular weight gas to transfer heat from fuel material to cladding during irradiation. A plurality of essentially vertical grooves in the fuel section extend downward and communicate with the accumulator section. The radial depth of the grooves is sufficient to provide a thermal gradient between the hot fuel surface and the relatively cooler cladding surface to allow thermal segregation to take place between the low molecular weight heat transfer gas and high molecular weight fission product gases produced by the fuel material during irradiation.

The coolant mass flow distribution in a liquid metal cooled reactor is enhanced by restricting flow in sub-channels defined in part by the peripheral fuel elements of a fuel assembly. This flow restriction, which results in more coolant flow in interior sub-channels, is achieved through the use of a corrugated liner positioned between the bundle of fuel elements and the inner wall of the fuel assembly coolant duct. The corrugated liner is expandable to accommodate irradiation induced growth of fuel assembly components.

A grid structure for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly comprising a plurality of connecting members forming at least one longitudinally extending opening peripheral and inner fuel element openings through each of which openings at least one nuclearfuel element extends, said connecting members forming wall means surrounding said each peripheral and inner fuel element opening, a pair of rigid projections longitudinally spaced from one another extending from a portion of said wall means into said each peripheral and inner opening for rigidly engaging said each fuel element, respectively, yet permit individual longitudinal slippage thereof, and resilient means formed integrally on and from said wall means and positioned in said each peripheral and inner opening in opposed relationship with said projections and located to engage said fuel element to bias the latter into engagement with said rigid projections, respectively

Fast reactors are once again being considered for nuclear power generation, in addition to transmutation of long-lived fission products resident in spent nuclearfuels. This re-consideration follows with intense developmental programs for both fuel and reactor design. One of the two leading candidates for next generation fast reactor fuel is metal alloys, resulting primarily from the successes achieved in the 1960s to early 1990s with both the experimental breeding reactor-II and the fast flux test facility. The goal of the current program is to develop and qualify a nuclearfuel system that performs all of the functions of a conventional, fast-spectrum nuclearfuel while destroying recycled actinides, thereby closing the nuclearfuel cycle. In order to meet this goal, the program must develop efficient and safe fuel fabrication processes designed for remote operation. This paper provides an overview of advanced casting processes investigated in the past, and the development of a gaseous diffusion calculation that demonstrates how straightforward process parameter modification can mitigate the loss of volatile minor actinides in the metal alloy melt.

The paper discusses the application of remotely sensed data from orbital satellites to the exploration for fossil and nuclearfuels. Geological applications of Landsat data are described including map editing, lithologic identification, structural geology, and mineral exploration. Specific results in fuel exploration are reviewed and a series of related Landsat images is included.

A support grid is provided for holding nuclearfuel rods in a rectangular array. Intersecting sheet metal strips are interconnected using opposing slots in the strips to form a rectangular cellular grid structure for engaging the sides of a multiplicity of fuel rods. Spring and dimple supports for engaging fuel and guide rods extending through each cell in the support grid are formed in the metal strips with the springs thus formed being characterized by nonlinear spring rates.

conceptual instrument will be summarized, in the context of (a) quantifying Pu mass in spent fuel assemblies and (b) detecting pin diversion (through a discrepancy between declared and measured properties of the fuel assembly) when the instrument is deployed. These quantitative capabilities are complementary to the 'fingerprinting' capability which is part of ensuring continuity of knowledge and custody of spent nuclearfuel.

Microbiological studies of spent nuclearfuel storage basins at Savannah River Site (SRS) were performed as a preliminary step to elucidate the potential for microbial-influenced corrosion (MIC) in these facilities. Total direct counts and culturable counts performed during a 2-year period indicated microbial densities of 10(4) to 10(7) cells/ml in water samples and on submerged metal coupons collected from these basins. Bacterial communities present in the basin transformed between 15% and 89% of the compounds present in Biologtrade mark plates. Additionally, the presence of several biocorrosion-relevant microbial groups (i.e., sulfate-reducing bacteria and acid-producing bacteria) was detected with commercially available test kits. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectra analysis of osmium tetroxide-stained coupons demonstrated the development of microbial biofilm communities on some metal coupons submerged for 3 weeks in storage basins. After 12 months, coupons were fully covered by biofilms, with some deterioration of the coupon surface evident at the microscopical level. These results suggest that, despite the oligotrophic and radiological environment of the SRS storage basins and the active water deionization treatments commonly applied to prevent electrochemical corrosion in these facilities, these conditions do not prevent microbial colonization and survival. Such microbial densities and wide diversity of carbon source utilization reflect the ability of the microbial populations to adapt to these environments. The presumptive presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria and acid-producing bacteria and the development of biofilms on submerged coupons indicated that an environment for MIC of metal components in the storage basins may occur. However, to date, there has been no indication or evidence of MIC in the basins. Basin chemistry control and corrosion surveillance programs instituted several years ago have substantially abated all corrosion mechanisms

The research presented here focuses on spent nuclearfuel assembly inspection using neutron computed tomography. Experimental measurements involving neutron beam transmission through a spent nuclearfuel assembly serve as benchmark measurements for an MCNP simulation model. Comparison of measured results to simulation results shows good agreement. Generation of tomography images from MCNP tally results was accomplished using adapted versions of built in MATLAB algorithms. Multiple fuel assembly models were examined to provide a broad set of conclusions. Tomography images revealing assembly geometric information including the fuel element lattice structure and missing elements can be obtained using high energy neutrons. A projection difference technique was developed which reveals the substitution of unirradiated fuel elements for irradiated fuel elements, using high energy neutrons. More subtle material differences such as altering the burnup of individual elements can be identified with lower energy neutrons provided the scattered neutron contribution to the image is limited. The research results show that neutron computed tomography can be used to inspect spent nuclearfuel assemblies for the purpose of identifying anomalies such as missing elements or substituted elements. The ability to identify anomalies in spent fuel assemblies can be used to deter diversion of material by increasing the risk of early detection as well as improve reprocessing facility operations by confirming the spent fuel configuration is as expected or allowing segregation if anomalies are detected.

A graphical conceptual model of the uranium fuel cycles has been developed to capture the present, anticipated, and potential (future) nuclearfuel cycle elements. The once-through cycle and plutonium recycle in fast reactors represent two basic approaches that bound classical options for nuclearfuel cycles. Chief among these other options are mono-recycling of plutonium in thermal reactors and recycling of minor actinides in fast reactors. Mono-recycling of plutonium in thermal reactors offers modest savings in natural uranium, provides an alternative approach for present-day interim management of used fuel, and offers a potential bridging technology to development and deployment of future fuel cycles. In addition to breeder reactors' obvious fuel sustainability advantages, recycling of minor actinides in fast reactors offers an attractive concept for long-term management of the wastes, but its ultimate value is uncertain in view of the added complexity in doing so,. Ultimately, there are no simple choices for nuclearfuel cycle options, as the selection of a fuel cycle option must reflect strategic criteria and priorities that vary with national policy and market perspectives. For example, fuel cycle decision-making driven primarily by national strategic interests will likely favor energy security or proliferation resistance issues, whereas decisions driven primarily by commercial or market influences will focus on economic competitiveness.

This invention relates to improved apparatus for counter-currently contacting liquids and solids to dissolve, or leach, a selected component of the solids while minimizing back-mixing of the liquid phase. The apparatus includes an elongated drum which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis in either direction and is partitioned radially into a solids-inlet/liquid-outlet compartment at one end, a solids-outlet/liquid-inlet compartment at its other end, and leaching compartments therebetween. The drum is designed to operate with its acid-inlet end elevated and with the longitudinal axis of the drum at an angle in the range of from about 3.degree. to 14.degree. to the horizontal. Each leaching compartment contains a chute assembly for advancing solids into the next compartment in the direction of solids flow when the drum is rotated in a selected direction. The chute assembly includes a solids-transfer baffle and a chute in the form of a slotted, skewed, conical frustum portion. When the drum is rotated in the direction opposite to that effecting solids transfer, the solids-transfer baffles continually separate and re-mix the solids and liquids in their respective compartments. The partitions defining the leaching compartments are formed with corresponding outer, annular, imperforate regions, each region extending inwardly from the partition rim to an annular array of perforations concentric with the rim. In each leaching compartment, the spacing between the rim and the perforations determines the depth of liquid at the liquid-outlet end of the compartment. The liquid input to the drum assembly flows continuously through the compartments, preventing back-mixing due to density differences, whereas backflow due to waves generated by the solids-transfer baffles is virtually eliminated because of the tilted orientation of the drum assembly.

In order to use up a stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium, the plutonium is converted into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel form wherein it can be disposed in a plurality of different fuel assembly types. Depending on the equilibrium cycle that is required, a predetermined number of one or more of the fuel assembly types are selected and arranged in the core of the reactor in accordance with a selected loading schedule. Each of the fuel assemblies is designed to produce different combustion characteristics whereby the appropriate selection and disposition in the core enables the resulting equilibrium cycle to closely resemble that which is produced using urania fuel. The arrangement of the MOX rods and burnable absorber rods within each of the fuel assemblies, in combination with a selective control of the amount of plutonium which is contained in each of the MOX rods, is used to tailor the combustion characteristics of the assembly. 38 figs.

In order to use up a stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium, the plutonium is converted into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel form wherein it can be disposed in a plurality of different fuel assembly types. Depending on the equilibrium cycle that is required, a predetermined number of one or more of the fuel assembly types are selected and arranged in the core of the reactor in accordance with a selected loading schedule. Each of the fuel assemblies is designed to produce different combustion characteristics whereby the appropriate selection and disposition in the core enables the resulting equilibrium cycle to closely resemble that which is produced using urania fuel. The arrangement of the MOX rods and burnable absorber rods within each of the fuel assemblies, in combination with a selective control of the amount of plutonium which is contained in each of the MOX rods, is used to tailor the combustion. characteristics of the assembly.

In order to use up a stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium, the plutonium is converted into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel form wherein it can be disposed in a plurality of different fuel assembly types. Depending on the equilibrium cycle that is required, a predetermined number of one or more of the fuel assembly types are selected and arranged in the core of the reactor in accordance with a selected loading schedule. Each of the fuel assemblies is designed to produce different combustion characteristics whereby the appropriate selection and disposition in the core enables the resulting equilibrium cycle to closely resemble that which is produced using urania fuel. The arrangement of the MOX rods and burnable absorber rods within each of the fuel assemblies, in combination with a selective control of the amount of plutonium which is contained in each of the MOX rods, is used to tailor the combustion characteristics of the assembly.

In order to use up a stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium, the plutonium is converted into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel form wherein it can be disposed in a plurality of different fuel assembly types. Depending on the equilibrium cycle that is required, a predetermined number of one or more of the fuel assembly types are selected and arranged in the core of the reactor in accordance with a selected loading schedule. Each of the fuel assemblies is designed to produce different combustion characteristics whereby the appropriate selection and disposition in the core enables the resulting equilibrium cycle to closely resemble that which is produced using urania fuel. The arrangement of the MOX rods and burnable absorber rods within each of the fuel assemblies, in combination with a selective control of the amount of plutonium which is contained in each of the MOX rods, is used to tailor the combustion characteristics of the assembly.

The results of the characterization efforts completed for the N Reactor fuel stored in the Hanford K Basins were Collected and summarized in this single referencable document. This summary provides a ''road map'' for what was done and the results obtained for the fuel characterization program initiated in 1994 and scheduled for completion in 1999 with the fuel oxidation rate measurement under moist inert atmospheres.

A galvanic cell and methods of using the galvanic cell is described for the recovery of uranium from used nuclearfuel according to an electrofluorination process. The galvanic cell requires no input energy and can utilize relatively benign gaseous fluorinating agents. Uranium can be recovered from used nuclearfuel in the form of gaseous uranium compound such as uranium hexafluoride, which can then be converted to metallic uranium or UO.sub.2 and processed according to known methodology to form a useful product, e.g., fuel pellets for use in a commercial energy production system.

Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) is a game changing technology for space exploration. Goal of assessing the affordability and viability of an NCPS includes these overall tasks: (1) Pre-conceptual design of the NCPS and architecture integration (2) NCPS Fuel Design and Testing (3) Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) (4) Affordable NCPS Development and Qualification Strategy (5) Second Generation NCPS Concepts. There is a critical need for fuels development. Fuel task objectives are to demonstrate capabilities and critical technologies using full scale element fabrication and testing.

A series of fuel cycle simulations were performed using CEA's reactor physics code ERANOS 2.0 to analyze the transmutation performance of the Subcritical Advanced Burner Reactor (SABR). SABR is a fusion-fission hybrid reactor that combines the leading sodium cooled fast reactor technology with the leading tokamak plasma technology based on ITER physics. Two general fuel cycles were considered for the SABR system. The first fuel cycle is one in which all of the transuranics from light water reactors are burned in SABR. The second fuel cycle is a minor actinide burning fuel cycle in which all of the minor actinides and some of the plutonium produced in light water reactors are burned in SABR, with the excess plutonium being set aside for starting up fast reactors in the future. The minor actinide burning fuel cycle is being considered in European Scenario Studies. The fuel cycles were evaluated on the basis of TRU/MA transmutation rate, power profile, accumulated radiation damage, and decay heat to the repository. Each of the fuel cycles are compared against each other, and the minor actinide burning fuel cycles are compared against the EFIT transmutation system, and a low conversion ratio fast reactor.

For more than 30 years, the Savannah River Plant (SRP) has been a major supplier of nuclear materials such as plutonium-239 and tritium-3 for nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, plutonium-238 for space exploration, and isotopes of americium, curium, and californium for use in the nuclear research community. SRP is a complete nuclear park, providing most of the processes in the nuclearfuel cycle. Key processes involve fabrication and cladding of the nuclearfuel, target, and control assemblies; rework of heavy water for use as reactor moderator; reactor loading, operation, and unloading; chemical recovery of the reactor transmutation products and spent fuels; and management of the gaseous, liquid, and solid nuclear and chemical wastes; plus a host of support operations. The site's history and the key processes from fabrication of reactor fuels and targets to finishing of virgin plutonium for use in the nuclear weapons complex are reviewed. Emphasis has been given to the chemistry of the recovery and purification of weapons grade plutonium from irradiated reactor targets.

This Fact Book has been compiled in an effort to provide (1) an overview of worldwide nuclear power and fuel cycle programs and (2) current data concerning fuel cycle and waste management facilities, R and D programs, and key personnel in countries other than the United States. Additional information on each country's program is available in the International Source Book: NuclearFuel Cycle Research and Development, PNL-2478, Rev. 2. The Fact Book is organized as follows: (1) Overview section - summary tables which indicate national involvement in nuclear reactor, fuel cycle, and waste management development activities; (2) national summaries - a section for each country which summarizes nuclear policy, describes organizational relationships and provides addresses, names of key personnel, and facilities information; (3) international agencies - a section for each of the international agencies which has significant fuel cycle involvement; (4) energy supply and demand - summary tables, including nuclear power projections; (5) fuel cycle - summary tables; and (6) travel aids - international dialing instructions, international standard time chart, passport and visa requirements, and currency exchange rate.

This Fact Book has been compiled in an effort to provide: (1) an overview of worldwide nuclear power and fuel cycle programs; and (2) current data concerning fuel cycle and waste management facilities, R and D programs, and key personnel in countries other than the United States. Additional information on each country's program is available in the International Source Book: NuclearFuel Cycle Research and Development, PNL-2478, Rev. 2. The Fact Book is organized as follows: (1) Overview section - summary tables which indicate national involvement in nuclear reactor, fuel cycle, and waste management development activities; (2) national summaries - a section for each country which summarizes nuclear policy, describes organizational relationships and provides addresses, names of key personnel, and facilities information; (3) international agencies - a section for each of the international agencies which has significant fuel cycle involvement; (4) energy supply and demand - summary tables, including nuclear power projections; (5) fuel cycle - summary tables; and (6) travel aids international dialing instructions, international standard time chart, passport and visa requirements, and currency exchange rate.

This report provides current statistical data on every fuel assembly irradiated in commercial nuclear reactors operating in the United States. It also provides data on the current inventories and storage capacities of those reactors to a wide audience, including Congress, Federal and State agencies, the nuclear and electric industries and the general public. It uses data from the mandatory, ``NuclearFuel Data`` survey, Form RW-859 for 1992 and historical data collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on previous Form RW-859 surveys. The report was prepared by the EIA under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

The Department of Energy is working with NASA to examine fuel options for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion applications. Extensive development and testing was performed on graphite-based fuels during the Nuclear Engineer Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) and Rover programs through the early 1970s. This paper explores the possibility of recapturing the technology and the issues associated with using it for the next generation of nuclear thermal rockets. The issues discussed include a comparison of today's testing capabilities, analysis techniques and methods, and knowledge to that of previous development programs and presents a plan to recapture the technology for a flight program.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Spent NuclearFuel Program is responsible for developing a defensible methodology for determining the radionuclide inventory for the DOE spent nuclearfuel (SNF) to be dispositioned at the proposed Monitored Geologic Repository at the Yucca Mountain Site. SNF owned by DOE includes diverse fuels from various experimental, research, and production reactors. These fuels currently reside at several DOE sites, universities, and foreign research reactor sites. Safe storage, transportation, and ultimate disposal of these fuels will require radiological source terms as inputs to safety analyses that support design and licensing of the necessary equipment and facilities. This paper summarizes the methodology developed for estimating radionuclide inventories associated with DOE-owned SNF. The results will support development of design and administrative controls to manage radiological risks and may later be used to demonstrate conformance with repository acceptance criteria.

Work on the cermet fuel reactor done in the 1960's by General Electric (GE) and the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) that had as its goal the development of systems that could be used for nuclear rocket propulsion as well as closed cycle propulsion system designs for ship propulsion, space nuclear propulsion, and other propulsion systems is reviewed. It is concluded that the work done in the 1960's has demonstrated that we can have excellent thermal and mechanical performance with cermet fuel. Thousands of hours of testing were performed on the cermet fuel at both GE and AGL, including very rapid transients and some radiation performance history. We conclude that there are no feasibility issues with cermet fuel. What is needed is reactivation of existing technology and qualification testing of a specific fuel form. We believe this can be done with a minimum development risk.

The spent nuclearfuel (SNF) project characterization activities will be furnishing technical data on SNF stored at the K Basins in support of a pathway for placement of a ``stabilized`` form of SNF into an interim storage facility. This report summarizes the results so far of visual inspection of the fuel samples, physical characterization (e.g., weight and immersion density measurements), metallographic examinations, and controlled atmosphere furnace testing of three fuel samples shipped from the KW Basin to the Postirradiation Testing Laboratory (PTL). Data on sludge material collected by filtering the single fuel element canister (SFEC) water are also discussed in this report.

A technique for monitoring variability in the nuclear absorption characteristics of aviation fuels has been developed. It is based on a highly collimated low energy gamma radiation source and a sodium iodide counter. The source and the counter assembly are separated by a geometrically well-defined test fuel cell. A computer program for determining the mass attenuation coefficient of the test fuel sample, based on the data acquired for a preset counting period, has been developed and tested on several types of aviation fuel.

A method for packaging spent nuclearfuel for long-term disposal in a geological repository. At least one spent nuclearfuel assembly is first placed in an unsealed waste package and a depleted uranium fill material is added to the waste package. The depleted uranium fill material comprises flowable particles having a size sufficient to substantially fill any voids in and around the assembly and contains isotopically-depleted uranium in the +4 valence state in an amount sufficient to inhibit dissolution of the spent nuclearfuel from the assembly into a surrounding medium and to lessen the potential for nuclear criticality inside the repository in the event of failure of the waste package. Last, the waste package is sealed, thereby substantially reducing the release of radionuclides into the surrounding medium, while simultaneously providing radiation shielding and increased structural integrity of the waste package.

A method is described for packaging spent nuclearfuel for long-term disposal in a geological repository. At least one spent nuclearfuel assembly is first placed in an unsealed waste package and a depleted uranium fill material is added to the waste package. The depleted uranium fill material comprises flowable particles having a size sufficient to substantially fill any voids in and around the assembly and contains isotopically-depleted uranium in the +4 valence state in an amount sufficient to inhibit dissolution of the spent nuclearfuel from the assembly into a surrounding medium and to lessen the potential for nuclear criticality inside the repository in the event of failure of the waste package. Last, the waste package is sealed, thereby substantially reducing the release of radionuclides into the surrounding medium, while simultaneously providing radiation shielding and increased structural integrity of the waste package. 6 figs.

On February 11, 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush, in a speech to the National Defense University stated: ''The world must create a safe, orderly system to field civilian nuclear plants without adding to the danger of weapons proliferation. The world's leading nuclear exporters should ensure that states have reliable access at reasonable cost to fuel for civilian reactors, so long as those states renounce enrichment and reprocessing. Enrichment and reprocessing are not necessary for nations seeking to harness nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.'' This concept would require nations to choose one of two paths for civilian nuclear development: those that only have reactors and those that contain one or more elements of the nuclearfuel cycle, including recycling. ''Fuel cycle'' states would enrich uranium, manufacture and lease fuel to ''reactor'' states and receive the reactor states' spent fuel. All parties would accede to stringent security and safeguard standards, embedded within a newly invigorated international regime. Reactor states would be relieved of the financial, environmental (and political) burden of enriching and manufacturing fuel and dealing with spent fuel. Fuel cycle states would potentially earn money on leasing the fuel and perhaps on sales of reactors to the reactor states. Such a leasing concept is especially interesting in scenarios which envision growth in nuclear power, and an important consideration for such a nuclear growth regime is the role of recycling of civilian spent fuel. Recycling holds promise for improved management of spent fuel and efficient utilization of resources, but continues to raise the specter of a world with uncontrolled nuclear weapons proliferation. If done effectively, a fuel-leasing concept could help create a political and economic foundation for significant growth of clean, carbon-free nuclear power while providing a mechanism for significant international cooperation to reduce proliferation concern. This

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), recently announced by DOE Secretary Bodman, poses significant new challenges with regard to securing, safeguarding, monitoring and tracking nuclear materials. In order to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation, new technologies must be developed to reduce the risk that nuclear material can be diverted from its intended use. Regardless of the specific nature of the fuel cycle, nuclear forensics and attribution will play key roles to ensure the effectiveness of nonproliferation controls and to deter the likelihood of illicit activities. As the leader of the DHS nuclear and radiological pre-detonation attribution program, LLNL is uniquely positioned to play a national leadership role in this effort. Ensuring that individuals or organizations engaged in illicit trafficking are rapidly identified and apprehended following theft or diversion of nuclear material provides a strong deterrent against unlawful activities. Key to establishing this deterrent is developing the ability to rapidly and accurately determine the identity, source and prior use history of any interdicted nuclear material. Taggants offer one potentially effective means for positively identifying lost or stolen nuclearfuels. Taggants are materials that can be encoded with a unique signature and introduced into nuclearfuel during fuel fabrication. During a nuclear forensics investigation, the taggant signature can be recovered and the nuclear material identified through comparison with information stored in an appropriate database. Unlike serial numbers or barcodes, microtaggants can provide positive identification with only partial recovery, providing extreme resistance to any attempt to delete or alter them.

Porous nuclearfuel elements for use in advanced high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR's), and to processes for fabricating them. Advanced uranium bi-carbide, uranium tri-carbide and uranium carbonitride nuclearfuels can be used. These fuels have high melting temperatures, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to erosion by hot hydrogen gas. Tri-carbide fuels, such as (U,Zr,Nb)C, can be fabricated using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to simultaneously deposit each of the three separate carbides, e.g., UC, ZrC, and NbC in a single CVI step. By using CVI, the nuclearfuel may be deposited inside of a highly porous skeletal structure made of, for example, reticulated vitreous carbon foam.

Porous nuclearfuel elements for use in advanced high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR's), and to processes for fabricating them. Advanced uranium bi-carbide, uranium tri-carbide and uranium carbonitride nuclearfuels can be used. These fuels have high melting temperatures, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to erosion by hot hydrogen gas. Tri-carbide fuels, such as (U,Zr,Nb)C, can be fabricated using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to simultaneously deposit each of the three separate carbides, e.g., UC, ZrC, and NbC in a single CVI step. By using CVI, the nuclearfuel may be deposited inside of a highly porous skeletal structure made of, for example, reticulated vitreous carbon foam.

Methods for manufacturing porous nuclearfuel elements for use in advanced high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR's). Advanced uranium bi-carbide, uranium tri-carbide and uranium carbonitride nuclearfuels can be used. These fuels have high melting temperatures, high thermal conductivity, and high resistance to erosion by hot hydrogen gas. Tri-carbide fuels, such as (U,Zr,Nb)C, can be fabricated using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to simultaneously deposit each of the three separate carbides, e.g., UC, ZrC, and NbC in a single CVI step. By using CVI, a thin coating of nuclearfuel may be deposited inside of a highly porous skeletal structure made, for example, of reticulated vitreous carbon foam.

One application of high energy particle accelerators has been, and still is, the production of nuclearfuel for the nuclear energy industry; tantalizing because it would create a whole new industry. This approach to producing fissile from fertile material was first considered in the early 1950's in the context of the nuclear weapons program. A considerable development effort was expended before discovery of uranium ore in New Mexico put an end to the project. Later, US commitment to the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBR) killed any further interest in pursuing accelerator breeder technology. Interest in the application of accelerators to breed nuclearfuels, and possibly burn nuclear wastes, revived in the late 1970's, when the LMFBR came under attack during the Carter administration. This period gave the opportunity to revisit the concept in view of the present state of the technology. This evaluation and the extensive calculational modeling of target designs that have been carried out are promising. In fact, a nuclearfuel cycle of Light Water Reactors and Accelerator Breeders is competitive to that of the LMFBR. At this time, however, the relative abundance of uranium reserves vs electricity demand and projected growth rate render this study purely academic. It will be for the next generation of accelerator builders to demonstate the competitiveness of this technology versus that of other nuclearfuel cycles, such as LMFBR's or Fusion Hybrid systems. 22 references, 1 figure, 5 tables.

BISON is a modern finite-element based nuclearfuel performance code that has been under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (USA) since 2009. The code is applicable to both steady and transient fuel behavior and is used to analyze either 2D axisymmetric or 3D geometries. BISON has been applied to a variety of fuel forms including LWR fuel rods, TRISO-coated fuel particles, and metallic fuel in both rod and plate geometries. Code validation is currently in progress, principally by comparison to instrumented LWR fuel rods and other well known fuel performance codes. Results from several assessment cases are reported, with emphasis on fuel centerline temperatures at various stages of fuel life, fission gas release, and clad deformation during pellet clad mechanical interaction (PCMI). BISON comparisons to fuel centerline temperature measurements are very good at beginning of life and reasonable at high burnup. Although limited to date, fission gas release comparisons are very good. Comparisons of rod diameter following significant power ramping are also good and demonstrate BISON's unique ability to model discrete pellet behavior and accurately predict clad ridging from PCMI. (authors)

As the global demand for energy grows, many nations are considering developing or increasing nuclear capacity as a viable, long-term power source. To assess the possible expansion of nuclear power and the intricate relationships---which cover the range of economics, security, and material supply and demand---between established and aspirant nuclear generating entities requires models and system analysis tools that integrate all aspects of the nuclear enterprise. Computational tools and methods now exist across diverse research areas, such as operations research and nuclear engineering, to develop such a tool. This dissertation aims to develop methodologies and employ and expand on existing sources to develop a multipurpose tool to analyze international nuclearfuel supply options. The dissertation is comprised of two distinct components: the development of the Material, Economics, and Proliferation Assessment Tool (MEPAT), and analysis of fuel cycle scenarios using the tool. Development of MEPAT is aimed for unrestricted distribution and therefore uses publicly available and open-source codes in its development when possible. MEPAT is built using the Powersim Studio platform that is widely used in systems analysis. MEPAT development is divided into three modules focusing on: material movement; nonproliferation; and economics. The material movement module tracks material quantity in each process of the fuel cycle and in each nuclear program with respect to ownership, location and composition. The material movement module builds on techniques employed by fuel cycle models such as the Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation (VISION) code developed at the Idaho National Laboratory under the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) for the analysis of domestic fuel cycle. Material movement parameters such as lending and reactor preference, as well as fuel cycle parameters such as process times and material factors are user-specified through a Microsoft Excel(c) data spreadsheet

This review summarises the methods currently available to extract radioactive actinide elements from solutions of spent nuclearfuel. This separation of actinides reduces the hazards associated with spent nuclearfuel, such as its radiotoxicity, volume and the amount of time required for its' radioactivity to return to naturally occurring levels. Separation of actinides from environmental water systems is also briefly discussed. The actinide elements typically found in spent nuclearfuel include uranium, plutonium and the minor actinides (americium, neptunium and curium). Separation methods for uranium and plutonium are reasonably well established. On the other hand separation of the minor actinides from lanthanide fission products also present in spent nuclearfuel is an ongoing challenge and an area of active research. Several separation methods for selective removal of these actinides from spent nuclearfuel will be described. These separation methods include solvent extraction, which is the most commonly used method for radiochemical separations, as well as the less developed but promising use of adsorption and ion-exchange materials. PMID:27427893

The Next Generation Safeguard Initiative (NGSI) of the U.S Department of Energy is supporting a multi-lab/university collaboration to quantify the plutonium (Pu) mass in spent nuclearfuel (SNF) assemblies and to detect the diversion of pins with non-destructive assay (NDA) methods. The following 14 NDA techniques are being studied: Delayed Neutrons, Differential Die-Away, Differential Die-Away Self-Interrogation, Lead Slowing Down Spectrometer, Neutron Multiplicity, Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity, Total Neutron (Gross Neutron), X-Ray Fluorescence, {sup 252}Cf Interrogation with Prompt Neutron Detection, Delayed Gamma, Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence, Passive Prompt Gamma, Self-integration Neutron Resonance Densitometry, and Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis. Understanding and maturity of the techniques vary greatly, ranging from decades old, well-understood methods to new approaches. Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) is a technique that had not previously been studied for SNF assay or similar applications. Since NRF generates isotope-specific signals, the promise and appeal of the technique lies in its potential to directly measure the amount of a specific isotope in an SNF assay target. The objectives of this study were to design and model suitable NRF measurement methods, to quantify capabilities and corresponding instrumentation requirements, and to evaluate prospects and the potential of NRF for SNF assay. The main challenge of the technique is to achieve the sensitivity and precision, i.e., to accumulate sufficient counting statistics, required for quantifying the mass of Pu isotopes in SNF assemblies. Systematic errors, considered a lesser problem for a direct measurement and only briefly discussed in this report, need to be evaluated for specific instrument designs in the future. Also, since the technical capability of using NRF to measure Pu in SNF has not been established, this report does not directly address issues such as cost, size

The human parvulin Pin1 is a member of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase group of proteins, which modulate the assembly, folding, activity, and transport of essential cellular proteins. Pin1 is a mitotic regulator interacting with a range of proteins that are phosphorylated before cell division. In addition, an involvement of Pin1 in the tau-related neurodegenerative brain disorders has recently been shown. In this context, Pin1 becomes depleted from the nucleus in Alzheimer's disease (AD) neurons when it is redirected to the large amounts of hyperphosphorylated tau associated with the neurofibrillary tangles. This depletion from the nucleus may ultimately contribute to neuron cell death. Recently we have devised a novel methodology in which exogenous Pin1 is used as a TEM probe for its target proteins. Here we extend this methodology to provide further evidence that Pin1 binds at enhanced levels to mitotic nuclear proteins and to hyperphosphorylated tau in AD brain. We suggest that exogenous Pin1 labeling can be used to elucidate the phosphorylation status of its target proteins in general and could specifically provide important insights into the development of tau-related neurodegenerative brain disorders. PMID:11118482

This paper examined the uncertainty in fuel cycle cost (FCC) calculation by considering both model and parameter uncertainty. Four different fuel cycle options were compared in the analysis including the once-through cycle (OT), the DUPIC cycle, the MOX cycle and a closed fuel cycle with fast reactors (FR). The model uncertainty was addressed by using three different FCC modeling approaches with and without the time value of money consideration. The relative ratios of FCC in comparison to OT did not change much by using different modeling approaches. This observation was consistent with the results of the sensitivity study for the discount rate. Two different sets of data with uncertainty range of unit costs were used to address the parameter uncertainty of the FCC calculation. The sensitivity study showed that the dominating contributor to the total variance of FCC is the uranium price. In general, the FCC of OT was found to be the lowest followed by FR, MOX, and DUPIC. But depending on the uranium price, the FR cycle was found to have lower FCC over OT. The reprocessing cost was also found to have a major impact on FCC.

Commercial used nuclearfuel (UNF) in the United States is expected to remain in storage for considerably longer periods than originally intended (e.g., <40 years). Extended storage (ES) time and irradiation of nuclearfuel to high-burnup values (>45 GWd/t) may increase the potential for fuel failure during normal and accident conditions involving storage and transportation. Fuel failure, depending on the severity, can result in changes to the geometric configuration of the fuel, which has safety and regulatory implications. The likelihood and extent of fuel reconfiguration and its impact on the safety of the UNF is not well understood. The objective of this work is to assess and quantify the impact of fuel reconfiguration due to fuel failure on criticality safety of UNF in storage and transportation casks. This effort is primarily motivated by concerns related to the potential for fuel degradation during ES periods and transportation following ES. The criticality analyses consider representative UNF designs and cask systems and a range of fuel enrichments, burnups, and cooling times. The various failed-fuel configurations considered are designed to bound the anticipated effects of individual rod and general cladding failure, fuel rod deformation, loss of neutron absorber materials, degradation of canister internals, and gross assembly failure. The results quantify the potential impact on criticality safety associated with fuel reconfiguration and may be used to guide future research, design, and regulatory activities. Although it can be concluded that the criticality safety impacts of fuel reconfiguration during transportation subsequent to ES are manageable, the results indicate that certain configurations can result in a large increase in the effective neutron multiplication factor, k{sub eff}. Future work to inform decision making relative to which configurations are credible, and therefore need to be considered in a safety evaluation, is recommended.

Fuelpins can credibly balloon to reach very high diametric strains under temperature transients typical of a PWR Loss-of coolant Accident (LOCA), but experiments show that these balloons are sufficiently misaligned axially to prevent total blockage of the flow. Most of the relevant experiments were performed in the 1980's and therefore were principally carried out on the various forms of Zircaloy 4 cladding available at the time. Much of the fuel used was either fresh or of modest burnup compared to the discharge irradiations achievable today. Since then, single pin experiments have been carried out with new cladding material and (to a limited extent) with high-burnup fuel. However, there is a need to interpret the performance of this fuel in the context of the wider body of evidence. A model of the development of flow blockages has been implemented using multiple instances of the fuelpin code MABEL interfaced to a sub-channel coolant flow code. The effect of a change in cladding material from Zircaloy to a 1% niobium alloy has been examined. The assessment concluded that the proposed replacement alloy is more creep hard at high temperature and therefore is expected to fail slightly later in the transient. The new cladding achieved a generally lower diametric strain at failure under the particular conditions of the fault. (authors)

Study was based on rapid changes of measured temperature values from the thermocouple in the VVER 440 nuclear reactor fuel assembly. Task was to determine origin of fluctuations of the temperature values by experiments on physical model of the fuel assembly. During an experiment, heated water was circulating in the system and cold water inlet through central tube to record sensitivity of the temperature sensor. Two positions of the sensor was used. First, just above the central tube in the physical model fuel assembly axis and second at the position of the thermocouple in the VVER 440 nuclear reactor fuel assembly. Dependency of the temperature values on time are presented in the diagram form in the paper.

The International NuclearFuel Cycle Fact Book has been compiled in an effort to provide current data concerning fuel cycle and waste management facilities, R and D programs and key personnel. The Fact Book contains: national summaries in which a section for each country which summarizes nuclear policy, describes organizational relationships and provides addresses, names of key personnel, and facilities information; and international agencies in which a section for each of the international agencies which has significant fuel cycle involvement, and a listing of nuclear societies. The national summaries, in addition to the data described above, feature a small map for each country as well as some general information. The latter is presented from the perspective of the Fact Book user in the United States.

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need exists costs for a ready source of information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book has been compiled to meet that need. The information contained in the International NuclearFuel Cycle Fact Book has been obtained from many unclassified sources: nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECD/NMEA activities reports; and proceedings of conferences and workshops. The data listed typically do not reflect any single source but frequently represent a consolidation/combination of information.

As the US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractors have become increasingly involved with other nations in nuclearfuel cycle and waste management cooperative activities, a need has developed for a ready source of information concerning foreign fuel cycle programs, facilities, and personnel. This Fact Book was compiled to meet that need. The information contained has been obtained from nuclear trade journals and newsletters; reports of foreign visits and visitors; CEC, IAEA, and OECD/NEA activities reports; proceedings of conferences and workshops; and so forth. Sources do not agree completely with each other, and the data listed herein does not reflect any one single source but frequently is a consolidation/combination of information. Lack of space as well as the intent and purpose of the Fact Book limit the given information to that pertaining to the NuclearFuel Cycle and to data considered of primary interest or most helpful to the majority of users.

The paper presents the results of the system research on the coordinated development of nuclear and fusion power engineering in the current century. Considering the increasing problems of resource procurement, including limited natural uranium resources, it seems reasonable to use fusion reactors as high-power neutron sources for production of nuclearfuel in a blanket. It is shown that the share of fusion sources in this structural configuration of the energy system can be relatively small. A fundamentally important aspect of this solution to the problem of closure of the fuel cycle is that recycling of highly active spent fuel can be abandoned. Radioactivity released during the recycling of the spent fuel from the hybrid reactor blanket is at least two orders of magnitude lower than during the production of the same number of fissile isotopes after the recycling of the spent fuel from a fast reactor.

The paper presents the results of the system research on the coordinated development of nuclear and fusion power engineering in the current century. Considering the increasing problems of resource procurement, including limited natural uranium resources, it seems reasonable to use fusion reactors as high-power neutron sources for production of nuclearfuel in a blanket. It is shown that the share of fusion sources in this structural configuration of the energy system can be relatively small. A fundamentally important aspect of this solution to the problem of closure of the fuel cycle is that recycling of highly active spent fuel can be abandoned. Radioactivity released during the recycling of the spent fuel from the hybrid reactor blanket is at least two orders of magnitude lower than during the production of the same number of fissile isotopes after the recycling of the spent fuel from a fast reactor.

Before privatisation in 1990, the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), had a statutory responsibility for the supply of electricity in England and Wales. Nuclear Electric took over the operation of the CEGB`s nuclear assets whilst remaining in the public sector. It now has to compete with private sector companies within the privatised market for electricity in the UK. The UK has had a tradition of reprocessing originating in the early weapons programme and all irradiated fuel from the Magnox reactors continues to be reprocessed. Specific consideration is given to the fuel used in the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGR) and the competing irradiated fuel management strategies of early reprocessing British NuclearFuel`s (BNFL) Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield or the alternative of long term storage followed by direct disposal. The fuel management strategy for the UK`s first Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), Sizewell B, will also be discussed. This review considers the following issues: (1) Plant technology and the effect on back-end strategies; (2) Nuclear Electric`s commercial approach to the changing UK business environment; (3) The inevitability of storage in the management of irradiated fuel; (4) Dry storage as an option in the UK Non economic issues such as safety, public perception, proliferation, International Safeguards and bilateral trade agreements; and (5) The experience of THORP and the issues it raises concerning two stage licensing. This paper not only reflects on the worldwide issues relating to the {open_quotes}reprocess or not decision{close_quotes} but also considers UK specific actions both historic and current. It concludes that whether to exercise the option of reprocessing in the short or long term, or at all, is a matter of commercial and strategic judgement of Nuclear Electric.

Under the DOE Deep Burn program TRISO fuel is being investigated as a fuel form for consuming plutonium and minor actinides, and for greater efficiency in uranium utilization. The result will thus be to drive TRISO particulate fuel to very high burn-ups. In the current effort the various phenomena in the TRISO particle are being modeled using a variety of techniques. The chemical behavior is being treated utilizing thermochemical analysis to identify phase formation/transformation and chemical activities in the particle, including kernel migration. Density functional theory is being used to understand fission product diffusion within the plutonia oxide kernel, the fission product's attack on the SiC coating layer, as well as fission product diffusion through an alternative coating layer, ZrC. Finally, a multiscale approach is being used to understand thermal transport, including the effect of radiation damage induced defects, in a model SiC material.

The successful disposal of spent nuclearfuel (SNF) is one of the most serious challenges to the success of the nuclearfuel cycle and the future of nuclear power generation. Spent nuclearfuel is essentially UO2 with approximately 4-5 atomic percent actinides and fission product...

Molds for making metallic nuclearfuel rods are provided which present reduced risks to the environment by reducing radioactive waste. In one embodiment, the mold is consumable with the fuel rod, and in another embodiment, part of the mold can be re-used. Several molds can be arranged together in a cascaded manner, if desired, or several long cavities can be integrated in a monolithic multiple cavity re-usable mold.

The purpose of this background paper is to summarize what is presently known about potential impacts on the impacts on the health risk of the nuclearfuel cycle form deployment of the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (ALMR){sup 1} and Integral Fast Reactor (IF){sup 2} technology as an actinide burning system. In a companion paper the impact on waste repository risk is addressed in some detail. Therefore, this paper focuses on the remainder of the fuel cycle.

A device for shutting down a nuclear reactor during an undercooling or overpower event, whether or not the reactor's scram system operates properly. This is accomplished by double-clad fuel safety rods positioned at various locations throughout the reactor core, wherein melting of a secondary internal cladding of the rod allows the fuel column therein to shift from the reactor core to place the reactor in a subcritical condition.

The Canister Storage Building (CSB) is a subproject under the Spent NuclearFuels Major System Acquisition. This subproject is necessary to design and construct a facility capable of providing dry storage of repackaged spent fuels received from K Basins. The CSB project completed a Conceptual Design Report (CDR) implementing current project requirements. A Design Review Committee was established to review the CDR. This document is the final report summarizing that review

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclearfuel (SNF) consists of hundreds of different fuel types in various conditions. In order to analyze and model the DOE SNF for its suitability for repository disposal, several generalizations and simplifications were necessary. This paper describes the methodology used to arrive at a suitable DOE SNF surrogate and summarizes the proposed analysis of this DOE SNF surrogate for its appropriateness as a representative SNF.

Fuel elements for thermal-fission nuclear reactors are described. The fuel element is comprised of a core of alumina, a film of a metal of the class consisting of copper, silver, and nickel on the outer face of the core, and a coating of an oxide of a metal isotope of the class consisting of Un/sup 235/, U/ sup 233/, and Pu/sup 239/ on the metal f ilm.

A fundamental criticism regarding the potential for microbial influenced corrosion in spent nuclearfuel cladding or storage containers concerns whether the required microorganisms can, in fact, survive radiation fields inherent in these materials. This study was performed to unequivocally answer this critique by addressing the potential for biofilm formation, the precursor to microbial-influenced corrosion, in radiation fields representative of spent nuclearfuel storage environments. This study involved the formation of a microbial biofilm on irradiated spent nuclearfuel cladding within a hot cell environment. This was accomplished by introducing 22 species of bacteria, in nutrient-rich media, to test vessels containing irradiated cladding sections and that was then surrounded by radioactive source material. The overall dose rate exceeded 2 Gy/h gamma/beta radiation with the total dose received by some of the bacteria reaching 5 × 10 3 Gy. This study provides evidence for the formation of biofilms on spent-fuel materials, and the implication of microbial influenced corrosion in the storage and permanent deposition of spent nuclearfuel in repository environments.

A fundamental criticism regarding the potential for microbial influenced corrosion in spent nuclearfuel cladding or storage containers concerns whether the required microorganisms can, in fact, survive radiation fields inherent in these materials. This study was performed to unequivocally answer this critique by addressing the potential for biofilm formation, the precursor to microbial-influenced corrosion, in radiation fields representative of spent nuclearfuel storage environments. This study involved the formation of a microbial biofilm on irradiated spent nuclearfuel cladding within a hot cell environment. This was accomplished by introducing 22 species of bacteria, in nutrient-rich media, to test vessels containing irradiated cladding sections and that was then surrounded by radioactive source material. The overall dose rate exceeded 2 Gy/h gamma/beta radiation with the total dose received by some of the bacteria reaching 5 × 103 Gy. This study provides evidence for the formation of biofilms on spent-fuel materials, and the implication of microbial influenced corrosion in the storage and permanent deposition of spent nuclearfuel in repository environments.

The thermo-acoustic fuel rod sensor developed in this research has demonstrated a novel technique for monitoring the temperature within the core of a nuclear reactor or the temperature of the surrounding heat-transfer fluid. It uses the heat from the nuclearfuel to generate sustained acoustic oscillations whose frequency will be indicative of the temperature. Converting a nuclearfuel rod into this type of thermo-acoustic sensor simply requires the insertion of a porous material (stack). This sensor has demonstrated a synergy with the elevated temperatures that exist within the nuclear reactor using materials that have only minimal susceptibility to high-energy particle fluxes. When the sensor is in operation, the sound waves radiated from the fuel rod resonator will propagate through the surrounding cooling fluid. The frequency of these oscillations is directly correlated with an effective temperature within the fuel rod resonator. This device is self-powered and is operational even in case of total loss of power of the reactor.

OAK B202 HIGH EFFICIENCY GENERATION OF HYDROGEN FUELS USING NUCLEAR POWER. Combustion of fossil fuels, used to power transportation, generate electricity, heat homes and fuel industry provides 86% of the world's energy. Drawbacks to fossil fuel utilization include limited supply, pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions, thought to be responsible for global warming, are now the subject of international treaties. Together, these drawbacks argue for the replacement of fossil fuels with a less-polluting potentially renewable primary energy such as nuclear energy. Conventional nuclear plants readily generate electric power but fossil fuels are firmly entrenched in the transportation sector. Hydrogen is an environmentally attractive transportation fuel that has the potential to displace fossil fuels. Hydrogen will be particularly advantageous when coupled with fuel cells. Fuel cells have higher efficiency than conventional battery/internal combustion engine combinations and do not produce nitrogen oxides during low-temperature operation. Contemporary hydrogen production is primarily based on fossil fuels and most specifically on natural gas. When hydrogen is produced using energy derived from fossil fuels, there is little or no environmental advantage. There is currently no large scale, cost-effective, environmentally attractive hydrogen production process available for commercialization, nor has such a process been identified. The objective of this work is to find an economically feasible process for the production of hydrogen, by nuclear means, using an advanced high-temperature nuclear reactor as the primary energy source. Hydrogen production by thermochemical water-splitting (Appendix A), a chemical process that accomplishes the decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen using only heat or, in the case of a hybrid thermochemical process, by a combination of heat and electrolysis, could meet these goals. Hydrogen produced from fossil

This report presents an assessment of the adaptability of EPRI's one- and two-dimensional STEALTH computer codes to perform transient fuel rod analysis. The ability of the STEALTH code to simulate transient mechanical or thermomechanical loss-of-coolant accident is described. Analytic models of one- and two-dimensional formulations and features included in the two-dimensional simulation are discussed.

Excessive fuel assembly vibrations in nuclear reactor cores should be avoided in order not to compromise the lifetime of the assembly and in order to prevent the occurrence of safety hazards. This issue is particularly relevant to new reactor designs that use liquid metal coolants, such as, for example, a molten lead-bismuth eutectic. The flow of molten heavy metal around and through the fuel assembly may cause the latter to vibrate and hence suffer degradation as a result of, for example, fretting wear or mechanical fatigue. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of optical fiber sensors to measure the fuel assembly vibration in a lead-bismuth eutectic cooled installation which can be used as input to assess vibration-related safety hazards. We show that the vibration characteristics of the fuelpins in the fuel assembly can be experimentally determined with minimal intrusiveness and with high precision owing to the small dimensions and properties of the sensors. In particular, we were able to record local strain level differences of about 0.2 μϵ allowing us to reliably estimate the vibration amplitudes and modal parameters of the fuel assembly based on optical fiber sensor readings during different stages of the operation of the facility, including the onset of the coolant circulation and steady-state operation. PMID:27110782

A simplified internal gelation process is claimed for the preparation of gel spheres of nuclearfuels. The process utilizes perchloroethylene as a gelation medium. Gelation is accomplished by directing droplets of a nuclearfuel broth into a moving volume of hot perchloroethylene (about 85/sup 0/C) in a trough. Gelation takes place as the droplets float on the surface of the perchloroethylene and the resultant gel spheres are carried directly into an ager column which is attached to the trough. The aged spheres are disengaged from the perchloroethylene on a moving screen and are deposited in an aqueous wash column. 3 figs.

Using first principle LDA+DMFT method, we conduct a systematic study on the correlated electronic structures and transport properties of select actinide carbides, nitrides, and oxides, many of which are nuclearfuel materials. Our results capture the metal--insulator Mott transition within the studied systems, and the appearance of the Zhang-Rice state in uranium dioxide. More importantly, by understanding the physics underlying their transport properties, we suggest ways to improve the efficiency of currently used fuels. This work is supported by the DOE Nuclear Energy University Program, contract No. 00088708.

A simplified internal gelation process for the preparation of gel spheres of nuclearfuels. The process utilizes perchloroethylene as a gelation medium. Gelation is accomplished by directing droplets of a nuclearfuel broth into a moving volume of hot perchloroethylene (about 85.degree. C.) in a trough. Gelation takes place as the droplets float on the surface of the perchloroethylene and the resultant gel spheres are carried directly into an ager column which is attached to the trough. The aged spheres are disengaged from the perchloroethylene on a moving screen and are deposited in an aqueous wash column.

The following report provides a rich resource of information for exploring fuel cycle characteristics. The most noteworthy trends can be traced back to the utilization efficiency of natural uranium resources. By definition, complete uranium utilization occurs only when all of the natural uranium resource can be introduced into the nuclear reactor long enough for all of it to undergo fission. Achieving near complete uranium utilization requires technologies that can achieve full recycle or at least nearly full recycle of the initial natural uranium consumed from the Earth. Greater than 99% of all natural uranium is fertile, and thus is not conducive to fission. This fact requires the fuel cycle to convert large quantities of non-fissile material into fissile transuranics. Step increases in waste benefits are closely related to the step increase in uranium utilization going from non-breeding fuel cycles to breeding fuel cycles. The amount of mass requiring a disposal path is tightly coupled to the quantity of actinides in the waste stream. Complete uranium utilization by definition means that zero (practically, near zero) actinide mass is present in the waste stream. Therefore, fuel cycles with complete (uranium and transuranic) recycle discharge predominately fission products with some actinide process losses. Fuel cycles without complete recycle discharge a much more massive waste stream because only a fraction of the initial actinide mass is burned prior to disposal. In a nuclear growth scenario, the relevant acceptable frequency for core damage events in nuclear reactors is inversely proportional to the number of reactors deployed in a fuel cycle. For ten times the reactors in a fleet, it should be expected that the fleet-average core damage frequency be decreased by a factor of ten. The relevant proliferation resistance of a fuel cycle system is enhanced with: decreasing reliance on domestic fuel cycle services, decreasing adaptability for technology misuse

As CANDU fuel failures can have significant economic and operational consequences on the Canadian nuclear power industry, it is essential that factors impacting fuel performance are adequately understood. Current industrial practice relies on deterministic safety analysis and the highly conservative "limit of operating envelope" approach, where all parameters are assumed to be at their limits simultaneously. This results in a conservative prediction of event consequences with little consideration given to the high quality and precision of current manufacturing processes. This study employs a novel approach to the prediction of CANDU fuel reliability. Probability distributions are fitted to actual fuel manufacturing datasets provided by Cameco Fuel Manufacturing, Inc. They are used to form input for two industry-standard fuel performance codes: ELESTRES for the steady-state case and ELOCA for the transient case---a hypothesized 80% reactor outlet header break loss of coolant accident. Using a Monte Carlo technique for input generation, 105 independent trials are conducted and probability distributions are fitted to key model output quantities. Comparing model output against recognized industrial acceptance criteria, no fuel failures are predicted for either case. Output distributions are well removed from failure limit values, implying that margin exists in current fuel manufacturing and design. To validate the results and attempt to reduce the simulation burden of the methodology, two dimensional reduction methods are assessed. Using just 36 trials, both methods are able to produce output distributions that agree strongly with those obtained via the brute-force Monte Carlo method, often to a relative discrepancy of less than 0.3% when predicting the first statistical moment, and a relative discrepancy of less than 5% when predicting the second statistical moment. In terms of global sensitivity, pellet density proves to have the greatest impact on fuel performance

The assurance of nuclearfuel supply has the potential to contribute to balancing peaceful use of nuclear power and nuclear nonproliferation. 5 proposals which provide the backup supply of the enrichment service in case of supply disruption, are investigated in this study. We investigated the 20 NPT countries which are non-nuclear-weapon states and possess operable commercial LWRs in October 2012 as potential participants for each proposal. As a result of literature researching, we have extracted factors that can be considered as important for a country to participate or not participate in the assurance of nuclearfuel supply. Then we have computed incentive and disincentive parameters for each country. The results show that the participation expectancy decreases in the order of IAEA Fuel Bank proposal, Russian LEU Reserve proposal, AFS proposal, WNA proposal and 6-Country proposal. The 'IAEA fuel bank proposal' would be triggered in case of the supply disruption which cannot be solved by the market mechanism and bilateral agreements.

A description is given of a gamma spectrometric technique which has been developed with the aim of determining the amount of a certain radioactive fission product taking into consideration local variations of the linear attenuation coefficient of gamma rays. Also, an experiment using a fuel element of the TRIGA Mark II reactor in Ljubljana is presented.

A method for storing radioactive spent fuel in repositories containing polyphenyl or silicon oil as the storage medium is disclosed. Polyphenyls and silicon oils are non-corrosive and are not subject to radiation damage. Thus, storage periods of up to 100 years are possible.

The resurgence of nuclear power as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has, in parallel, revived interest in the environmental impact of actinides. Just as GHG emissions are the main environmental impact of the combustion of fossil fuels, the fate of actinides, consumed and produced by nuclear reactions, determines whether nuclear power is viewed as an environmentally “friendly” source of energy. In this article, we summarize the sources of actinides in the nuclearfuel cycle, how actinides are separated by chemical processing, the development of actinide-bearing materials, and the behavior of actinides in the environment. At each stage, actinides present a unique and complicated behavior because of the 5f electronic configurations.

The feasibility of the fabrication of tungsten based nuclearfuel cermets via Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is investigated in this work. CeO2 is used to simulate fuel loadings of UO2 or Mixed-Oxide (MOX) fuels within tungsten-based cermets due to the similar properties of these materials. This study shows that after a short time sintering, greater than 90 % density can be achieved, which is suitable to possess good strength as well as the ability to contain fission products. The mechanical properties and the densities of the samples are also investigated as functions of the applied pressures during the sintering.

A preselected volume of nuclearfuel particles are placed in a cylindrical mold cavity followed by a solid pellet of resin--carbon matrix material of preselected volume. The mold is heated to liquefy the pellet and the liquefied matrix forced throughout the interstices of the fuel particles by advancing a piston into the mold cavity. Excess matrix is permitted to escape through a vent hole in the end of the mold opposite to that end where the pellet was originally disposed. After the matrix is resolidified by cooling, the resultant fuel composite is removed from the mold and the resin component of the matrix carbonized. (Official Gazette)

Various combinations of reactor type and fuel composition have been characterized using principle components analysis (PCA) of the concentrations of 9 U and Pu isotopes in the 10 fuel as a function of burnup. The use of PCA allows the reduction of the 9-dimensional data (isotopic concentrations) into a 3-dimensional approximation, giving a visual representation of the changes in nuclearfuel composition with burnup. Real-world variation in the concentrations of {sup 234}U and {sup 236}U in the fresh (unirradiated) fuel was accounted for. The effects of reprocessing were also simulated. The results suggest that, 15 even after reprocessing, Pu isotopes can be used to determine both the type of reactor and the initial fuel composition with good discrimination. Finally, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PSLDA) was investigated as a substitute for PCA. Our results suggest that PLSDA is a better tool for this application where separation between known classes is most important.

This study shows that spent UO2 fuel can be completely dissolved in a carbonate-peroxide solution apparently without attacking the metallic Mo-Tc-Ru-Rh-Pd fission product phase. Samples of spent nuclearfuel were pulverized and sieved to a uniform size, then duplicate aliquots were weighed into beakers for analysis. One set was dissolved in near-boiling 10M nitric acid, and the other set was dissolved in a solution of ammonium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide at room temperature. All the resulting fuel solutions were then analyzed for Sr-90, Tc-99, Cs-137, plutonium, and Am-241. For all the samples, the concentrations of Cs-137, Sr-90, plutonium, and Am-241 were the same for both the nitric acid dissolution and the ammonium carbonate-hydrogen peroxide dissolution, but the technetium concentration of the ammonium carbonate-hydrogen peroxide fuel solution was only about 25% of the same fuels dissolved in hot nitric acid.

The Convert branch of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) focuses on the development of high uranium density fuels for research and test reactors for nonproliferation. This fuel is aimed to convert low density high enriched uranium (HEU) based fuel to high density low enriched uranium (LEU) based fuel for high performance research reactors (HPRR). There are five U.S. reactors that fall under the HPRR category, including: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MITR), the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR), the Missouri University Research Reactor (UMRR), the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). U-Mo alloy fuel phase in the form of either monolithic or dispersion foil type fuels, such as ATR Full-size In center flux trap Position (AFIP) and Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR), are being designed for this purpose. The fabrication process1 of RERTR is susceptible to introducing a variety of fuel defects. A dependable quality control method is required during fabrication of RERTR miniplates to maintain the allowable design tolerances, therefore evaluating and analytically verifying the fabricated miniplates for maintaining quality standards as well as safety. The purpose of this work is to analyze the thickness of the fabricated RERTR-12 miniplates using non-destructive technique to meet the fuel plate specification for RERTR fuel to be used in the ATR.

A sensitivity study has been conducted to assess the robustness of the conclusions presented in the MIT Fuel Cycle Study. The Once Through Cycle (OTC) is considered as the base-line case, while advanced technologies with fuel recycling characterize the alternative fuel cycles. The options include limited recycling in LWRs and full recycling in fast reactors and in high conversion LWRs. Fast reactor technologies studied include both oxide and metal fueled reactors. The analysis allowed optimization of the fast reactor conversion ratio with respect to desired fuel cycle performance characteristics. The following parameters were found to significantly affect the performance of recycling technologies and their penetration over time: Capacity Factors of the fuel cycle facilities, Spent Fuel Cooling Time, Thermal Reprocessing Introduction Date, and in core and Out-of-core TRU Inventory Requirements for recycling technology. An optimization scheme of the nuclearfuel cycle is proposed. Optimization criteria and metrics of interest for different stakeholders in the fuel cycle (economics, waste management, environmental impact, etc.) are utilized for two different optimization techniques (linear and stochastic). Preliminary results covering single and multi-variable and single and multi-objective optimization demonstrate the viability of the optimization scheme. (authors)

A nuclearfuel element for a high temperature gas nuclear reactor that has an average operating temperature in excess of 2000.degree. C., and a method of making such a fuel element. The fuel element is characterized by having fissionable fuel material localized and stabilized within pores of a carbon or graphite member by melting the fissionable material to cause it to chemically react with the carbon walls of the pores. The fissionable fuel material is further stabilized and localized within the pores of the graphite member by providing one or more coatings of pyrolytic carbon or diamond surrounding the porous graphite member so that each layer defines a successive barrier against migration of the fissionable fuel from the pores, and so that the outermost layer of pyrolytic carbon or diamond forms a barrier between the fissionable material and the moderating gases used in an associated high temperature gas reactor. The method of the invention provides for making such new elements either as generally spherically elements, or as flexible filaments, or as other relatively small-sized fuel elements that are particularly suited for use in high temperature gas reactors.

Previous simulation studies of Differential Die-Away (DDA) instrument's response to active interrogation of spent nuclearfuel from a pressurized water reactor (PWR) yielded promising results in terms of its capability to accurately measure or estimate basic spent fuel assembly (SFA) characteristics, such as multiplication, initial enrichment (IE) and burn-up (BU) as well as the total plutonium content. These studies were however performed only for a subset of idealized SFAs with a symmetric BU with respect to its longitudinal axis. Therefore, to complement the previous results, additional simulations have been performed of the DDA instrument's response to interrogation of asymmetrically burned spent nuclearfuel in order to determine whether detailed assay of SFAs from all 4 sides will be necessary in real life applications or whether a cost and time saving single sided assay could be used to achieve results of similar quality as previously reported in case of symmetrically burned SFAs. The results of this study suggest that DDA instrument response depends on the position of the individual neutron detectors and in fact can be split in two modes. The first mode, measured by the back detectors, is not significantly sensitive to the spatial distribution of fissile isotopes and neutron absorbers, but rather reflects the total amount of both contributors as in the cases of symmetrically burned SFAs. In contrary, the second mode, measured by the front detectors, yields certain sensitivity to the orientation of the asymmetrically burned SFA inside the assaying instrument. This study thus provides evidence that the DDA instrument can potentially be utilized as necessary in both ways, i.e. a quick determination of the average SFA characteristics in a single assay, as well as a more detailed characterization involving several DDA observables through assay of the SFA from all of its four sides that can possibly map the burn-up distribution and/or identify diversion or

We characterized, for the first time, submicro- and nanosized fission product-alloy particles that were extracted nondestructively from spent nuclearfuel, in terms of noble metal (Mo-Ru-Tc-Rh-Pd-Te) composition, atomic level homogeneity and lattice parameters. The evidences obtained in this work contribute to an improved understanding of the redox chemistry of radionuclides in nuclear waste repository environments and, in particular, of the catalytic properties of these unique metal alloy particles.

In Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) PNNL implemented a formal reasoning framework and applied it to a specific challenge in nuclear nonproliferation. The Semantic Nonproliferation Analysis Platform (SNAP) was developed as a preliminary graphical user interface to demonstrate the potential power of the underlying semantic technologies to analyze and explore facts and relationships relating to the nuclearfuel cycle (NFC). In Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) the SNAP demonstration was enhanced with respect to query and navigation usability issues.

Romania successfully completed the world’s first air shipment of spent nuclearfuel transported in Type B(U) casks under existing international laws and without shipment license special exceptions when the last Romanian highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclearfuel was transported to the Russian Federation in June 2009. This air shipment required the design, fabrication, and licensing of special 20 foot freight containers and cask tiedown supports to transport the eighteen TUK 19 shipping casks on a Russian commercial cargo aircraft. The new equipment was certified for transport by road, rail, water, and air to provide multi modal transport capabilities for shipping research reactor spent fuel. The equipment design, safety analyses, and fabrication were performed in the Russian Federation and transport licenses were issued by both the Russian and Romanian regulatory authorities. The spent fuel was transported by truck from the VVR S research reactor to the Bucharest airport, flown by commercial cargo aircraft to the airport at Yekaterinburg, Russia, and then transported by truck to the final destination in a secure nuclear facility at Chelyabinsk, Russia. This shipment of 23.7 kg of HEU was coordinated by the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program (RRRFR), as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), in close cooperation with the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and was managed in Romania by the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN). This paper describes the planning, shipment preparations, equipment design, and license approvals that resulted in the safe and secure air shipment of this spent nuclearfuel.

The safe and secure movement of spent nuclearfuel from shutdown and active reactor facilities to intermediate or long term storage sites may, in some instances, require the use of several modes of transportation to accomplish the move. To that end, a fully operable multi-modal routing system is being developed within Oak Ridge National Laboratory s (ORNL) WebTRAGIS (Transportation Routing Analysis Geographic Information System). This study aims to provide an overview of multi-modal routing, the existing state of the TRAGIS networks, the source data needs, and the requirements for developing structural relationships between various modes to create a suitable system for modeling the transport of spent nuclearfuel via a multimodal network. Modern transportation systems are comprised of interconnected, yet separate, modal networks. Efficient transportation networks rely upon the smooth transfer of cargoes at junction points that serve as connectors between modes. A key logistical impediment to the shipment of spent nuclearfuel is the absence of identified or designated transfer locations between transport modes. Understanding the potential network impacts on intermodal transportation of spent nuclearfuel is vital for planning transportation routes from origin to destination. By identifying key locations where modes intersect, routing decisions can be made to prioritize cost savings, optimize transport times and minimize potential risks to the population and environment. In order to facilitate such a process, ORNL began the development of a base intermodal network and associated routing code. The network was developed using previous intermodal networks and information from publicly available data sources to construct a database of potential intermodal transfer locations with likely capability to handle spent nuclearfuel casks. The coding development focused on modifying the existing WebTRAGIS routing code to accommodate intermodal transfers and the selection of

At present the IAEA designs its safeguards approach with regard to each type of nuclear facility so that the safeguards activities and effort are essentially the same for a given type and size of nuclear facility wherever it may be located. Conclusions regarding a state are derived by combining the results of safeguards verifications for the individual facilities within it. We have examined safeguards approaches for a state nuclearfuel cycle that take into account the existence of all of the nuclear facilities in the state. We have focussed on the fresh-fuel zone of an advanced nuclearfuel cycle, the several facilities of which use or process low-enriched uranium. At one extreme, flows and inventories would be verified at each material balance area. At the other extreme, the flows into and out of the zone and the inventory of the whole zone would be verified. The intention is to develop an approach which will make it possible to compare the technical effectiveness and the inspection effort for the facility-oriented approach, for the zone approach and for some reasonable intermediate safeguards approaches. Technical effectiveness, in these cases, means an estimate of the assurance that all nuclear material has been accounted for.

Coatings of Ti2AlC MAX phase compound have been successfully deposited on Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) test flats, with the goal of enhancing the accident tolerance of LWR fuel cladding. Low temperature powder spray process, also known as cold spray, has been used to deposit coatings ∼90 μm in thickness using powder particles of <20 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the phase-content of the deposited coatings to be identical to the powders indicating that no phase transformation or oxidation had occurred during the coating deposition process. The coating exhibited a high hardness of about 800 HK and pin-on-disk wear tests using abrasive ruby ball counter-surface showed the wear resistance of the coating to be significantly superior to the Zry-4 substrate. Scratch tests revealed the coatings to be well-adhered to the Zry-4 substrate. Such mechanical integrity is required for claddings from the standpoint of fretting wear resistance and resisting wear handling and insertion. Air oxidation tests at 700 °C and simulated LOCA tests at 1005 °C in steam environment showed the coatings to be significantly more oxidation resistant compared to Zry-4 suggesting that such coatings can potentially provide accident tolerance to nuclearfuel cladding.

Coatings of Ti2AlC MAX phase compound have been successfully deposited on Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) test flats, with the goal of enhancing the accident tolerance of LWR fuel cladding. Low temperature powder spray process, also known as cold spray, has been used to deposit coatings ˜90 μm in thickness using powder particles of <20 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the phase-content of the deposited coatings to be identical to the powders indicating that no phase transformation or oxidation had occurred during the coating deposition process. The coating exhibited a high hardness of about 800 HK and pin-on-disk wear tests using abrasive ruby ball counter-surface showed the wear resistance of the coating to be significantly superior to the Zry-4 substrate. Scratch tests revealed the coatings to be well-adhered to the Zry-4 substrate. Such mechanical integrity is required for claddings from the standpoint of fretting wear resistance and resisting wear handling and insertion. Air oxidation tests at 700 °C and simulated LOCA tests at 1005 °C in steam environment showed the coatings to be significantly more oxidation resistant compared to Zry-4 suggesting that such coatings can potentially provide accident tolerance to nuclearfuel cladding.

The Fuel Assembly Area (FAA) at the Fast Flux Test Facility site on the Hanford Site at Richland, Washington currently is being prepared to fabricate mixed oxide fuel (U, Pu) for the FFTF. Calculational tools are required to perform criticality safety analyses for various process locations and to establish safe limits for fissile material handling at the FAA. These codes require validation against experimental data appropriate for the compositions that will be handled. Critical array experiments performed by Bierman provide such data for mixed oxide fuel in the range Pu/(U+Pu) = 22 wt %, and with Pu-240 contents equal to 12 wt %. Both the Monte Carlo Neutron Photon (MCNP) and the Winfrith Improved Multigroup Scheme (WIMS-E) computer codes were used to calculate the neutron multiplication factor for explicit models of the various critical arrays. The W-CACTUS modules within the WIMS-E code system was used to calculate k{infinity} for the explicit array configuration, as well as few-group cross sections that were then used in a three-dimensional diffusion theory code for the calculation of k{sub eff} for the finite array. 10 refs., 15 figs., 7 tabs.

A laser beam is used to puncture fuel cladding for release of contained pressurized fission gas from plenum sections or irradiated fuelpins. Exhausted fission gases are collected and trapped for safe disposal. The laser beam, adjusted to welding mode, is subsequently used to reseal the puncture holes. The fuel assembly is returned to additional irradiation or, if at end of reactivity lifetime, is routed to reprocess. The fuel assembly design provides graded cladding lengths, by rows or arrays, such that the cladding of each component fuel element of the assembly is accessible to laser beam reception.

Since greenhouse gases are a global concern, rather than a local concern as are some kinds of effluents, one must compare the entire lifecycle of nuclear power to alternative technologies for generating electricity. A recent critical analysis by Sovacool (2008) gives a clearer picture. "It should be noted that nuclear power is not directly emitting greenhouse gas emissions, but rather that lifecycle emissions occur through plant construction, operation, uranium mining and milling, and plant decommissioning." "[N]uclear energy is in no way 'carbon free' or 'emissions free,' even though it is much better (from purely a carbon-equivalent emissions standpoint) than coal, oil, and natural gas electricity generators, but worse than renewable and small scale distributed generators" (Sovacool 2008). According to Sovacool, at an estimated 66 g CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour (gCO2e/kWh), nuclear power emits 15 times less CO2 per unit electricity generated than unscrubbed coal generation (at 1050 gCO2e/kWh), but 7 times more than the best renewable, wind (at 9 gCO2e/kWh). The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2009) has long recognized CO2 emissions in its regulations concerning the environmental impact of the nuclearfuel cycle. In Table S-3 of 10 CFR 51.51(b), NRC lists a 1000-MW(electric) nuclear plant as releasing as much CO2 as a 45-MW(e) coal plant. A large share of the carbon emissions from the nuclearfuel cycle is due to the energy consumption to enrich uranium by the gaseous diffusion process. A switch to either gas centrifugation or laser isotope separation would dramatically reduce the carbon emissions from the nuclearfuel cycle.

Spent uranium oxide nuclearfuel hosts a variety of trace chemical constituents, many of which must be sequestered from the biosphere during fuel storage and disposal. In this paper we present synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy and microscopy findings that illuminate the resultant local chemistry of neptunium and plutonium within spent uranium oxide nuclearfuel before and after corrosive alteration in an air-saturated aqueous environment. We find the plutonium and neptunium in unaltered spent fuel to have a +4 oxidation state and an environment consistent with solid-solution in the UO{sub 2} matrix. During corrosion in an air-saturated aqueous environment, the uranium matrix is converted to uranyl U(VI)O{sub 2}{sup 2+} mineral assemblage that is depleted in plutonium and neptunium relative to the parent fuel. At the corrosion front interface between intact fuel and the uranyl-mineral corrosion layer, we find evidence of a thin ({approx}20 micrometer) layer that is enriched in plutonium and neptunium within a predominantly U{sup 4+} environment. Available data for the standard reduction potentials for NpO{sup 2+}/Np{sup 4+} and UO{sub 2}{sup 2+}/U{sup 4+} couples indicate that Np(IV) may not be effectively oxidized to Np(V) at the corrosion potentials of uranium dioxide spent nuclearfuel in air-saturated aqueous solutions. Neptunium is an important radionuclide in dose contribution according to performance assessment models of the proposed U. S. repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. A scientific understanding of how the UO{sub 2} matrix of spent nuclearfuel impacts the oxidative dissolution and reductive precipitation of neptunium is needed to predict its behavior at the fuel surface during aqueous corrosion. Neptunium would most likely be transported as aqueous Np(V) species, but for this to occur it must first be oxidized from the Np(IV) state found within the parent spent nuclearfuel [1]. In the immediate vicinity of the spent fuel's surface the redox

Fuel handling development testing was performed in support of the Fuel Retrieval System (FRS) Sub-Project at the Hanford Site. The project will retrieve spent nuclearfuel, clean and remove fuel from canisters, repackage fuel into baskets, and load fuel into a multi-canister overpack (MCO) for vacuum drying and interim dry storage. The FRS is required to retrieve basin fuel canisters, clean fuel elements sufficiently of uranium corrosion products (or sludge), empty fuel from canisters, sort debris and scrap from whole elements, and repackage fuel in baskets in preparation for MCO loading. The purpose of fuel handling development testing was to examine the systems ability to accomplish mission activities, optimization of equipment layouts for initial process definition, identification of special needs/tools, verification of required design changes to support performance specification development, and validation of estimated activity times/throughput. The test program was set up to accomplish this purpose through cold development testing using simulated and prototype equipment; cold demonstration testing using vendor expertise and systems; and graphical computer modeling to confirm feasibility and throughput. To test the fuel handling process, a test mockup that represented the process table was fabricated and installed. The test mockup included a Schilling HV series manipulator that was prototypic of the Schilling Hydra manipulator. The process table mockup included the tipping station, sorting area, disassembly and inspection zones, fuel staging areas, and basket loading stations. The test results clearly indicate that the Schilling Hydra arm cannot effectively perform the fuel handling tasks required unless it is attached to some device that can impart vertical translation, azimuth rotation, and X-Y translation. Other test results indicate the importance of camera locations and capabilities, and of the jaw and end effector tool design. 5 refs., 35 figs., 3 tabs.

Ignalina NPP comprises two Units with RBMK-1500 reactors. After the Unit 1 of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was shut down in 2004, approximately 1000 fuel assemblies from Unit were available for further reuse in Unit 2. The fuel-transportation container, vehicle, protection shaft and other necessary equipment were designed in order to implement the process for on-site transportation of Unit 1 fuel for reuse in the Unit 2. The Safety Analysis Report (SAR) was developed to demonstrate that the proposed set of equipment performs all functions and assures the required level of safety for both normal operation and accident conditions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the content and main results of SAR, focusing attention on the container used to transport spent fuel assemblies from Unit I on Unit 2. In the SAR, the structural integrity, thermal, radiological and nuclear safety calculations are performed to assess the acceptance of the proposed set of equipment. The safety analysis demonstrated that the proposed nuclearfuel transportation container and other equipment are in compliance with functional, design and regulatory requirements and assure the required safety level. (authors)

Tasks of nuclear safety assurance for storage and transport of fresh mixed uranium-plutonium fuel of the VVER-1000 reactor are considered in the view of 3 MOX LTAs introduction into the core. The precise code MCU that realizes the Monte Carlo method is used for calculations.

Microstructured nuclearfuel adapted for nuclear power system use includes fissile material structures of micrometer-scale dimension dispersed in a matrix material. In one method of production, fissile material particles are processed in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fluidized-bed reactor including a gas inlet for providing controlled gas flow into a particle coating chamber, a lower bed hot zone region to contain powder, and an upper bed region to enable powder expansion. At least one pneumatic or electric vibrator is operationally coupled to the particle coating chamber for causing vibration of the particle coater to promote uniform powder coating within the particle coater during fuel processing. An exhaust associated with the particle coating chamber and can provide a port for placement and removal of particles and powder. During use of the fuel in a nuclear power reactor, fission products escape from the fissile material structures and come to rest in the matrix material. After a period of use in a nuclear power reactor and subsequent cooling, separation of the fissile material from the matrix containing the embedded fission products will provide an efficient partitioning of the bulk of the fissile material from the fission products. The fissile material can be reused by incorporating it into new microstructured fuel. The fission products and matrix material can be incorporated into a waste form for disposal or processed to separate valuable components from the fission products mixture.

A method is described for preparing a fuel element for a nuclear reactor. According to the patent uranium dioxide is compacted in a metal tabe by directlng intense sound waves at the tabe prior to tamp packing or vibration compaction of the powder. (AEC)

A plan was prepared to implement the Quality Assurance requirements of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management RW-0333P to the Spent NuclearFuel Characterization activities. The plan was based on an evaluation of the current characterization activities against the RW-0333P requirements.

A parametric study of the Spent NuclearFuel Project system capacity is presented. The study was completed using a commercially available software package to develop a summary level model of the major project systems. Alternative configurations, sub-system cycle times, and operating scenarios were tested to identify their impact on total project duration and equipment requirements.

SRTC is developing technology for direct disposal of aluminum spent nuclearfuel (SNF). The development program includes analyses and tests to support design and safe operation of a facility for ''road ready'' dry storage of SNF-filled canisters. The current technology development plan includes review of available SNF drying methods and recommendation of a drying method for aluminum SNF.

Improved spherules for making enhanced forms of nuclear-reactor fuels are prepared by internal gelation procedures within a sol-gel operation and are accomplished by first boiling the concentrated HMTA-urea feed solution before engaging in the spherule-forming operation thereby effectively controlling crystallite size in the product spherules.

Improved spherules for making enhanced forms of nuclear-reactor fuels are prepared by internal gelation procedures within a sol-gel operation and are accomplished by first boiling the concentrated HMTA-urea feed solution before engaging in the spherule-forming operation thereby effectively controlling crystallite size in the product spherules.

A method is given for preparing a fuel element for a nuclear reactor. The method includes the steps of sandblasting a body of uranium dioxide to roughen the surface thereof, depositing a thin layer of carbon thereon by thermal decomposition of methane, and cladding the uranium dioxide body with zirconium by gas pressure bonding. (AEC)

Building on previous internal investments and leveraging ongoing advancements in semantic technologies, PNNL implemented a formal reasoning framework and applied it to a specific challenge in nuclear nonproliferation. The Semantic Nonproliferation Analysis Platform (SNAP) was developed as a preliminary graphical user interface to demonstrate the potential power of the underlying semantic technologies to analyze and explore facts and relationships relating to the nuclearfuel cycle (NFC). In developing this proof of concept prototype, the utility and relevancy of semantic technologies to the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D) has been better understood.

The present work was undertaken to provide heat transfer model that accurately predicts the thermal performance of dry spent nuclearfuel storage facilities. One of the storage configurations being considered for DOE Aluminum-clad Spent NuclearFuel (Al-SNF), such as the Material and Testing Reactor (MTR) fuel, is in a dry storage facility. To support design studies of storage options a computational and experimental program has been conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The main objective is to develop heat transfer models including natural convection effects internal to an interim dry storage canister and to geological codisposal Waste Package (WP). Calculated temperatures will be used to demonstrate engineering viability of a dry storage option in enclosed interim storage and geological repository WP and to assess the chemical and physical behaviors of the Al-SNF in the dry storage facilities. The current paper describes the modeling approaches and presents the computational results along with the experimental data.

The use of neutrons produced by the medium energy proton accelerator (1 GeV--3 GeV) has considerable potential in reconstructing the nuclearfuel cycle. About 1.5 {approximately} 2.5 ton of fissile material can be produced annually by injecting a 450 MW proton beam directly into fertile materials. A source of neutrons, produced by a proton beam, to supply subcritical reactors could alleviate many of the safety problems associated with critical assemblies, such as positive reactivity coefficients due to coolant voiding. The transient power of the target can be swiftly controlled by controlling the power of the proton beam. Also, the use of a proton beam would allow more flexibility in the choice of fuel and structural materials which otherwise might reduce the reactivity of reactors. This paper discusses the rate of accelerators in the transmutation of radioactive wastes of the nuclearfuel cycles. 34 refs., 17 figs., 9 tabs.

"The Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator" test section closely simulates the internal operating conditions of a thermal nuclear rocket. The purpose of testing is to determine the ideal fuel rod characteristics for optimum thermal heat transfer to their hydrogen cooling/working fluid while still maintaining fuel rod structural integrity. Working fluid exhaust temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit can be encountered. The exhaust gas is rendered inert and massively reduced in temperature for analysis using a combination of water cooling channels and cool N2 gas injectors in the H2-N2 mixer portion of the test section. An extensive thermal fluid analysis was performed in support of the engineering design of the H2-N2 mixer in order to determine the maximum "mass flow rate"-"operating temperature" curve of the fuel elements hydrogen exhaust gas based on the test facilities available cooling N2 mass flow rate as the limiting factor.

The absence of any industrial scale nuclearfuel reprocessing in the U.S. has precluded the necessary driver for developing the advanced simulation capability now prevalent in so many other industries. Modeling programs to simulate the dynamic behavior of nuclearfuel separations and processing were originally developed to support the US government’s mission of weapons production and defense fuel recovery. Consequently there has been little effort is the US devoted towards improving this specific process simulation capability during the last two or three decades. More recent work has been focused on elucidating chemical thermodynamics and developing better models of predicting equilibrium in actinide solvent extraction systems. These equilibrium models have been used to augment flowsheet development and testing primarily at laboratory scales. The development of more robust and complete process models has not kept pace with the vast improvements in computational power and user interface and is significantly behind simulation capability in other chemical processing and separation fields.

The Canadian NuclearFuel Waste Management Program is developing methods for the safe disposal of both used nuclearfuel and fuel recycle waste. The disposal strategy is based on interim storage of the used fuel, immobilization of either used fuel or recycle waste, and disposal, deep in a stable geological formation in the Canadian Shield. The disposal concept proposes a multibarrier system to inhibit the release of the radioactive waste from the disposal vault. The principal components of the multibarrier system are (i) the waste form in which the radionuclides are immobilized, (ii) engineered barriers including high integrity containers, buffers and backfills designed to retard the movement of groundwaters in the disposal vault, and (iii) the natural barrier provided by the massive geological formation itself. The research programs to investigate this concept are discussed briefly. Several different waste forms are being developed for the immobilization of high-level fuel recycle waste, including glass, glass-ceramics and crystalline materials. Dissolution of these materials in groundwater is the only likely scenario that could lead to radionuclide release. The factors that influence the aqueous dissolution behaviour of these materials are reviewed. PMID:6488089

Most countries with nuclear power are planning for spent nuclearfuel (or high-level waste from reprocessing of spent fuel) to be disposed of in national deep geological repositories starting in the time period of about 2010 to 2050. While spent fuel has been stored in water basins for the early years after discharge from the reactors, interim dry storage for extended periods (i.e., several tens of years) is being implemented or considered in an increasing number of countries. Dry storage technology is generally considered to be developed on a world-wide basis, and is being initiated and/ or expanded in a number of countries. This paper presents a summary of status and experience in dry storage of spent fuel in other countries, with emphasis on zirconium-clad fuels. Past activities, current status, future plans, research and development, and experience in dry storage are summarized for Argentina, Canada, France, former West Germany, former East Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the former Soviet Union. Conclusions from their experience are presented. Their experience to date supports the expectations that proper dry storage should provide for safe extended dry storage of spent fuel.

In a typical subassembly of a liquid-metal reactor, slightly unsymmetric coolant flow and temperature distribution around fuelpins is common and inevitable. The geometric location away from the subassembly center and the irradiation-induced rod bowing are among the primary reasons for such occurrences. Studies of the hydrodynamics of the skewed coolant distribution and the associated fuelpin heat transfer are extensive in both computer modeling and laboratory experimental work. In-pile verification of the phenomenon, however, has been rare. High temperature in fuelpins and the perturbation from temperature-monitoring devices discourage such an endeavor. Recent evidence of the sensitive response of the fuel-sodium reaction product (FSRP) to its decomposition temperature, however, might make in-pile verification possible. The clearly demarcated interface of the FSRP would serve as an excellent thermal monitor that reveals the temperature contour within the fuel. This finding from the postirradiation examination (PIE) of mixed-oxide (MOX) pins, is one of the spin-offs of the run-beyond-cladding-breach (RBCB) program jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Power Reactor and NuclearFuel Development Corporation of Japan. The FSRP fuel interface is thus a good benchmark for verifying fuel and coolant temperature distributions. The RBCB experiment and the associated analysis are discussed and conclusions are presented.

The Global Nuclear Vision Project is examining, using scenario building techniques, a range of long-term nuclear energy futures. The exploration and assessment of optimal nuclearfuel-cycle and material strategies is an essential element of the study. To this end, an established global E{sup 3} (energy/economics/environmental) model has been adopted and modified with a simplified, but comprehensive and multi-regional, nuclear energy module. Consistent nuclear energy scenarios are constructed using this multi-regional E{sup 3} model, wherein future demands for nuclear power are projected in price competition with other energy sources under a wide range of long-term demographic (population, workforce size and productivity), economic (price-, population-, and income-determined demand for energy services, price- and population-modified GNP, resource depletion, world-market fossil energy prices), policy (taxes, tariffs, sanctions), and top-level technological (energy intensity and end-use efficiency improvements) drivers. Using the framework provided by the global E{sup 3} model, the impacts of both external and internal drivers are investigated. The ability to connect external and internal drivers through this modeling framework allows the study of impacts and tradeoffs between fossil- versus nuclear-fuel burning, that includes interactions between cost, environmental, proliferation, resource, and policy issues.

Many studies have been undertaken to understand crud formation on the upper spans of fuelpin clad surfaces, which is called axial offset anomaly (AOA), is observed in pressurized water reactors (PWR) as a result of sub-cooled nucleate boiling. Separately, researchers have considered the effect of water radiolysis in the primary coolant of PWR. This study examines the effects of radiolysis of liquid water, which aggressively participate in general cladding corrosion and solutes within the primary coolant system, in the terms of pH, temperature, and Linear Energy Transfer (LET). It also discusses the effect of mass transfer, especially diffusion, on the concentration distribution of the radiolytic products, H{sub 2} and O{sub 2}, in the porous crud layer. Finally it covers the effects of chemical reactions of boric acid (H{sub 3}BO{sub 3}), which has a negative impact on the mechanisms of water recombination with hydrogen, lithium hydroxide (LiOH), which has a negative effect on water decomposition, dissolved hydrogen (DH), and some trace impurities. (authors)

Tensile specimens were prepared from 20/25/Nb stainless steel fuelpin cladding irradiated in a Commercial Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (CAGR) at temperatures in the range 622-866 K and integrated fast neutron doses up to 16 × 10 24n/ m2. The tests were performed in air at temperatures in the range 298-873 K at strain rates from 2 × 10 -5s-1 to 7.2 s -1. The tensile properties varied with irradiation temperature, test temperature and strain rate. At lower irradiation temperature, strengthening produced by fast neutron damage was accompanied by reduced elongation. Strengthening was also observed at higher irradiation temperatures, possibly due to precipitation phenomena. The maximum irradiation embrittlement was observed in tests at 873 K at low strain rates between 2 × 10 -4s-1 and 2 × 10 -5s-1. The failure mode of embrittled specimens irradiated at higher temperatures was characterized by prematurely ruptured ductile fibres, rather than by intergranular cracking.

This Operational Description is prepared as input to the Multi- Canister Overpack (MCO) Pressurization Analysis. The MCO Pressurization analysis will include topical studies and analyses on fuel/moisture/has behavior areas, modeling of temperature and pressure, and a culminating integrated gas generation and pressurization analysis providing the expected MCO pressure history for normal operating scenarios and for off-normal events. A basis for the temperature and pressure modeling will be this operational description. Its objective is to provide time,temperature, and MCO material loading envelopes for the modeling efforts, both for normal and off-normal events.

A new nuclearfuel cycle is described which provides a long term supply of nuclearfuel for the thermal LWR nuclear power reactors and eliminates the need for long-term storage of radioactive waste. Fissile fuel is produced by the Spallator which depends on the production of spallation neutrons by the interaction of high-energy (1 to 2 GeV) protons on a heavy-metal target. The neutrons are absorbed in a surrounding natural-uranium or thorium blanket in which fissile Pu-239 to U-233 is produced. Advances in linear accelerator technology makes it possible to design and construct a high-beam-current continuous-wave proton linac for production purposes. The target is similar to a sub-critical reactor and produces heat which is converted to electricity for supplying the linac. The Spallator is a self-sufficient fuel producer, which can compete with the fast breeder. The APEX fuel cycle depends on recycling the transuranics and long-lived fission products while extracting the stable and short-lived fission products when reprocessing the fuel. Transmutation and decay within the fuel cycle and decay of short-lived fission products external to the fuel cycle eliminates the need for long-term geological age shortage of fission-product waste.

The National Nuclear Security Administration is developing methods for nonproliferation assessments to support the development and implementation of U.S. nonproliferation policy. This paper summarizes the key results of that effort. Proliferation resistance is the degree of difficulty that a nuclear material, facility, process, or activity poses to the acquisition of one or more nuclear weapons. A top-level measure of proliferation resistance for a fuel cycle system is developed here from a hierarchy of metrics. At the lowest level, intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to proliferation are defined. These barriers are recommended as a means to characterize the proliferation characteristics of a fuel cycle. Because of the complexity of nonproliferation assessments, the problem is decomposed into: metrics to be computed, barriers to proliferation, and a finite set of threats. The spectrum of potential threats of nuclear proliferation is complex and ranges from small terrorist cells to industrialized countries with advanced nuclearfuel cycles. Two general categories of methods have historically been used for nonproliferation assessments: attribute analysis and scenario analysis. In the former, attributes of the systems being evaluated (often fuel cycle systems) are identified that affect their proliferation potential. For a particular system under consideration, the attributes are weighted subjectively. In scenario analysis, hypothesized scenarios of pathways to proliferation are examined. The analyst models the process undertaken by the proliferant to overcome barriers to proliferation and estimates the likelihood of success in achieving a proliferation objective. An attribute analysis approach should be used at the conceptual design level in the selection of fuel cycles that will receive significant investment for development. In the development of a detailed facility design, a scenario approach should be undertaken to reduce the potential for design vulnerabilities

The increased occupational doses resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident that occurred in Ukraine in April 1986, the reactor accident of Fukushima that took place in Japan in March 2011, and the early operations of the Mayak Production Association in Russia in the 1940s and 1950s are presented and discussed. For comparison purposes, the occupational doses due to the other two major reactor accidents (Windscale in the United Kingdom in 1957 and Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979) and to the main plutonium-producing facility in the United States (Hanford Works) are also covered but in less detail. Both for the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident and the routine operations at Mayak, the considerable efforts made to reconstruct individual doses from external irradiation to a large number of workers revealed that the recorded doses had been overestimated by a factor of about two.Introduction of Increased Occupational Exposures: Nuclear Industry Workers. (Video 1:32, http://links.lww.com/HP/A21). PMID:24378501

The panel reviewed the complete nuclearfuel cycle in the context of alternate energy resources, energy need projections, effects on the environment, susceptibility of nuclear materials to theft, diversion, and weapon proliferation. We also looked at ethical considerations of energy use, as well as waste, and its effects. The scope of the review extended to the end of the next century with due regard for world populations beyond that period. The intent was to take a long- range view and to project, not forecast, the future based on ethical rationales, and to avoid, as often happens, long-range discussions that quickly zoom in on only the next few decades. A specific nuclearfuel cycle technology that could satisfy these considerations was described and can be applied globally.

The technical, economic, and environmental characteristics of (thermal, nonsolar) electric power plants are reviewed. The fuel cycle, from extraction of new fuel to final waste management, is included. Emphasis is placed on the fossil fuel and nuclear technologies.

The US National Nuclear Security Agency is tasked with minimizing the worldwide use of high-enriched uranium. One aspect of that effort is the conversion of research reactors to monolithic fuel plates of low-enriched uranium. The manufacturing process includes hot isostatic press bonding of an aluminum cladding to the fuel foil. The Laser Shockwave Technique (LST) is here evaluated for characterizing the interface strength of fuel plates using depleted Uranium/Mo foils. LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large amplitude acoustic waves and is therefore well adapted to the quality assurance of this process. Preliminary results show a clear signature of well-bonded and debonded interfaces and the method is able to classify/rank the bond strength of fuel plates prepared under different HIP conditions.

The US National Nuclear Security Agency is tasked with minimizing the worldwide use of high-enriched uranium. One aspect of that effort is the conversion of research reactors to monolithic fuel plates of low-enriched uranium. The manufacturing process includes hot isostatic press bonding of an aluminum cladding to the fuel foil. The Laser Shockwave Technique (LST) is here evaluated for characterizing the interface strength of fuel plates using depleted Uranium/Mo foils. LST is a non-contact method that uses lasers for the generation and detection of large amplitude acoustic waves and is therefore well adapted to the quality assurance of this process. Preliminary results show a clear signature of well-bonded and debonded interfaces and the method is able to classify/rank the bond strength of fuel plates prepared under different HIP conditions.

Direct measurement of the amount of Pu and U in spent nuclearfuel represents a challenge for the safeguards community. Ideally, the characteristic gamma-ray emission lines from different isotopes provide an observable suitable for this task. However, these lines are generally lost in the fierce flux of radiation emitted by the fuel. The rates are so high that detector dead times limit measurements to only very small solid angles of the fuel. Only through the use of carefully designed view ports and long dwell times are such measurements possible. Recent advances in multilayer grazing-incidence gamma-ray optics provide one possible means of overcoming this difficulty. With a proper optical and coating design, such optics can serve as a notch filter, passing only narrow regions of the overall spectrum to a fully shielded detector that does not view the spent fuel directly. We report on the design of a mirror system and a number of experimental measurements.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has been engaged in an effort to develop and qualify next generation LWR fuel with enhanced performance and safety and reduced waste generation since 2010. This program, which has emphasized collaboration between the DOE, U.S. national laboratories and nuclear industry, was refocused from enhanced performance to enhanced accident tolerance following the events at Fukushima in 2011. Accident tolerant fuels have been specifically described as fuels that, in comparison with standard UO2-Zircaloy, can tolerate loss of active cooling in the reactor core for a considerably longer time period (depending on the LWR system and accident scenario) while maintaining or improving the fuel performance during normal operations, operational transients, as well as design-basis and beyond design-basis events. The program maintains an ambitious goal to insert a lead test assembly (LTA) of the new design into a commercial power reactor by 2022 .

General Atomics has started design of a waste to energy nuclear reactor (EM2) that can use light water reactor (LWR) spent nuclearfuel (SNF). This effort addresses two problems: using an advanced small reactor with long core life to reduce nuclear energy overnight cost and providing a disposal path for LWR SNF. LWR SNF is re-fabricated into new EM2 fuel using a dry voloxidation process modeled on AIROX/ OREOX processes which remove some of the fission products but no heavy metals. By not removing all of the fission products the fuel remains self-protecting. By not separating heavy metals, the process remains proliferation resistant. Implementation of Energy Multiplier Module (EM2) fuel cycle will provide low cost nuclear energy while providing a long term LWR SNF disposition path which is important for LWR waste confidence. With LWR waste confidence recent impacts on reactor licensing, an alternate disposition path is highly relevant. Centered on a reactor operating at 250 MWe, the compact electricity generating system design maximizes site flexibility with truck transport of all system components and available dry cooling features that removes the need to be located near a body of water. A high temperature system using helium coolant, electricity is efficiently produced using an asynchronous high-speed gas turbine while the LWR SNF is converted to fission products. Reactor design features such as vented fuel and silicon carbide cladding support reactor operation for decades between refueling, with improved fuel utilization. Beyond the reactor, the fuel cycle is designed so that subsequent generations of EM2 reactor fuel will use the previous EM2 discharge, providing its own waste confidence plus eliminating the need for enrichment after the first generation. Additional LWR SNF is added at each re-fabrication to replace the removed fission products. The fuel cycle uses a dry voloxidation process for both the initial LWR SNF re-fabrication and later for EM2

Conceptual designs are presented utilizing the Barnwell NuclearFuel Plant for the dry interim storage of spent light water reactor fuel. Studies were conducted to determine feasible approaches to storing spent fuel by methods other than wet pool storage. Fuel that has had an opportunity to cool for several years, or more, after discharge from a reactor is especially adaptable to dry storage since its thermal load is greatly reduced compared to the thermal load immediately following discharge. A thermal analysis was performed to help in determining the feasibility of various spent fuel dry storage concepts. Methods to reject the heat from dry storage are briefly discussed, which include both active and passive cooling systems. The storage modes reviewed include above and below ground caisson-type storage facilities and numerous variations of vault, or hot cell-type, storage facilities.

The nuclearfuel cycle consists of a set of complex components that are intended to work together. To support the nuclear renaissance, it is necessary to understand the impacts of changes and timing of events in any part of the fuel cycle system such as how the system would respond to each technological change, a series of which moves the fuel cycle from where it is to a postulated future state. The system analysis working group of the United States research program on advanced fuel cycles (formerly called the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative) is developing a dynamic simulation model, VISION, to capture the relationships, timing, and changes in and among the fuel cycle components to help develop an understanding of how the overall fuel cycle works. This paper is an overview of the philosophy and development strategy behind VISION. The paper includes some descriptions of the model components and some examples of how to use VISION. For example, VISION users can now change yearly the selection of separation or reactor technologies, the performance characteristics of those technologies, and/or the routing of material among separation and reactor types - with the model still operating on a PC in <5 min.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission have initiated a multiyear project to investigate application of burnup credit for boiling-water reactor (BWR) fuel in storage and transportation casks. This project includes two phases. The first phase (1) investigates applicability of peak reactivity methods currently used in spent fuel pools (SFPs) to storage and transportation systems and (2) evaluates validation of both reactivity (keff) calculations and burnup credit nuclide concentrations within these methods. The second phase will focus on extending burnup credit beyond peak reactivity. This paper documents the first phase, including an analysis of lattice design parameters and depletion effects, as well as both validation components. Initial efforts related to extended burnup credit are discussed in a companion paper. Peak reactivity analyses have been used in criticality analyses for licensing of BWR fuel in SFPs over the last 20 years. These analyses typically combine credit for the gadolinium burnable absorber present in the fuel with a modest amount of burnup credit. Gadolinium burnable absorbers are used in BWR assemblies to control core reactivity. The burnable absorber significantly reduces assembly reactivity at beginning of life, potentially leading to significant increases in assembly reactivity for burnups less than 15–20 GWd/MTU. The reactivity of each fuel lattice is dependent on gadolinium loading. The number of gadolinium-bearing fuelpins lowers initial lattice reactivity, but it has a small impact on the burnup and reactivity of the peak. The gadolinium concentration in each pin has a small impact on initial lattice reactivity but a significant effect on the reactivity of the peak and the burnup at which the peak occurs. The importance of the lattice parameters and depletion conditions are primarily determined by their impact on the gadolinium depletion. Criticality code validation for BWR burnup

The glut of fissile material from reprocessing plants and from the conclusion of the cold war has provided the opportunity to design new fuel types to beneficially dispose of such stocks by generating useful power. Thus, in addition to the normal reactor core complement of enriched uranium fuel assemblies, two other types are available on the world market. These are the ERU (enriched recycled uranium) and the MOX (mixed oxide) fuel assemblies. Framatome ANP produces ERU fuel assemblies by taking feed material from reprocessing facilities and blending this with highly enriched uranium from other sources. MOX fuel assemblies contain plutonium isotopes, thus exploiting the higher neutron yield of the plutonium fission process. This paper describes and evaluates the gamma, spontaneous and alpha reaction neutron source terms of these non-irradiated fuel assembly types by defining their nuclear characteristics. The dose rates which arise from these terms are provided along with an overview of radiation protection aspects for consideration in transporting and delivering such fuel assemblies to power generating utilities. PMID:16381693

The purpose of this calculation is to estimate the probability of misloading a commercial spent nuclearfuel waste package with a fuel assembly(s) that has a reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) outside the waste package design. The waste package designs are based on the expected commercial spent nuclearfuel assemblies and previous analyses (Macheret, P. 2001, Section 4.1 and Table 1). For this calculation, a misloaded waste package is defined as a waste package that has a fuel assembly(s) loaded into it with an enrichment and/or burnup outside the waste package design. An example of this type of misload is a fuel assembly designated for the 21-PWR Control Rod waste package being incorrectly loaded into a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. This constitutes a misloaded 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package, because the reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) of a 21-PWR Control Rod waste package fuel assembly is outside the design of a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. These types of misloads (i.e., fuel assembly with enrichment and/or burnup outside waste package design) are the only types that are evaluated in this calculation. This calculation utilizes information from ''Frequency of SNF Misload for Uncanistered Fuel Waste Package'' (CRWMS M&O 1998) as the starting point. The scope of this calculation is limited to the information available. The information is based on the whole population of fuel assemblies and the whole population of waste packages, because there is no information about the arrival of the waste stream at this time. The scope of this calculation deviates from that specified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Risk and Criticality Department'' (BSC 2002a, Section 2.1.30) in that only waste package misload is evaluated. The remaining issues identified (i.e., flooding and geometry reconfiguration) will be addressed elsewhere. The intended use of the calculation is to provide information and inputs to the Preclosure Safety Analysis

The purpose of this calculation is to estimate the probability of misloading a commercial spent nuclearfuel waste package with a fuel assembly(s) that has a reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) outside the waste package design. The waste package designs are based on the expected commercial spent nuclearfuel assemblies and previous analyses (Macheret, P. 2001, Section 4.1 and Table 1). For this calculation, a misloaded waste package is defined as a waste package that has a fuel assembly(s) loaded into it with an enrichment and/or burnup outside the waste package design. An example of this type of misload is a fuel assembly designated for the 21-PWR Control Rod waste package being incorrectly loaded into a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. This constitutes a misloaded 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package, because the reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) of a 21-PWR Control Rod waste package fuel assembly is outside the design of a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. These types of misloads (i.e., fuel assembly with enrichment and/or burnup outside waste package design) are the only types that are evaluated in this calculation. This calculation utilizes information from ''Frequency of SNF Misload for Uncanistered Fuel Waste Package'' (CRWMS M&O 1998) as the starting point. The scope of this calculation is limited to the information available. The information is based on the whole population of fuel assemblies and the whole population of waste packages, because there is no information about the arrival of the waste stream at this time. The scope of this calculation deviates from that specified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Risk and Criticality Department'' (BSC 2002a, Section 2.1.30) in that only waste package misload is evaluated. The remaining issues identified (i.e., flooding and geometry reconfiguration) will be addressed elsewhere. The intended use of the calculation is to provide information and inputs to the Preclosure Safety Analysis

Many nuclearfuel cycle simulators have evolved over time to help understan the nuclear industry/ecosystem at a macroscopic level. Cyclus is one of th first fuel cycle simulators to accommodate larger-scale analysis with it liberal open-source licensing and first-class Linux support. Cyclus also ha features that uniquely enable investigating the effects of modeling choices o fuel cycle simulators and scenarios. This work is divided into thre experiments focusing on optimization, effects of modeling choices, and fue cycle uncertainty. Effective optimization techniques are developed for automatically determinin desirable facility deployment schedules with Cyclus. A novel method fo mapping optimization variables to deployment schedules is developed. Thi allows relationships between reactor types and scenario constraints to b represented implicitly in the variable definitions enabling the usage o optimizers lacking constraint support. It also prevents wasting computationa resources evaluating infeasible deployment schedules. Deployed power capacit over time and deployment of non-reactor facilities are also included a optimization variables There are many fuel cycle simulators built with different combinations o modeling choices. Comparing results between them is often difficult. Cyclus flexibility allows comparing effects of many such modeling choices. Reacto refueling cycle synchronization and inter-facility competition among othe effects are compared in four cases each using combinations of fleet of individually modeled reactors with 1-month or 3-month time steps. There are noticeable differences in results for the different cases. The larges differences occur during periods of constrained reactor fuel availability This and similar work can help improve the quality of fuel cycle analysi generally There is significant uncertainty associated deploying new nuclear technologie such as time-frames for technology availability and the cost of buildin advanced reactors

Once-through fuel cycle systems are commercially used for the generation of nuclear power, with little exception. The bulk of these once-through systems have been water-cooled reactors (light-water and heavy water reactors, LWRs and HWRs). Some gas-cooled reactors are used in the United Kingdom. The commercial power systems that are exceptions use limited recycle (currently one recycle) of transuranic elements, primarily plutonium, as done in Europe and nearing deployment in Japan. For most of these once-through fuel cycles, the ultimate storage of the used (spent) nuclearfuel (UNF, SNF) will be in a geologic repository. Besides the commercial nuclear plants, new once-through concepts are being proposed for various objectives under international advanced nuclearfuel cycle studies and by industrial and venture capital groups. Some of the objectives for these systems include: (1) Long life core for remote use or foreign export and to support proliferation risk reduction goals - In these systems the intent is to achieve very long core-life with no refueling and limited or no access to the fuel. Most of these systems are fast spectrum systems and have been designed with the intent to improve plant economics, minimize nuclear waste, enhance system safety, and reduce proliferation risk. Some of these designs are being developed under Generation IV International Forum activities and have generally not used fuel blankets and have limited the fissile content of the fuel to less than 20% for the purpose on meeting international nonproliferation objectives. In general, the systems attempt to use transuranic elements (TRU) produced in current commercial nuclear power plants as this is seen as a way to minimize the amount of the problematic radio-nuclides that have to be stored in a repository. In this case, however, the reprocessing of the commercial LWR UNF to produce the initial fuel will be necessary. For this reason, some of the systems plan to use low enriched uranium

In the 1960s in the frame of the sodium-cooled fast breeders, SCK•CEN decided to develop claddings made with ferritic stainless materials because of their specific properties, namely a higher thermal conductivity, a lower thermal expansion, a lower tendency to He-embrittlement, and a lower swelling than the austenitic stainless steels. To enhance their lower creep resistance at 650-700 °C arose the idea to strengthen the microstructure by oxide dispersions. This was the starting point of an ambitious programme where both the matrix and the dispersions were optimized. A purely ferritic 13 wt% Cr matrix was selected and its mechanical strength was improved through addition of ferritizing elements. Results of tensile and stress-rupture tests showed that Ti and Mo were the most beneficial elements, partly because of the chi-phase precipitation. In 1973 the optimized matrix composition was Fe-13Cr-3.5Ti-2Mo. To reach creep properties similar to those of AISI 316, different dispersions and methods were tested: internal oxidation (that was not conclusive), and the direct mixing of metallic and oxide powders (Al2O3, MgO, ZrO2, TiO2, ZrSiO4) followed by pressing, sintering, and extrusion. The compression and extrusion parameters were determined: extrusion as hollow at 1050 °C, solution annealing at 1050 °C/15 min, cleaning, cold drawing to the final dimensions with intermediate annealings at 1050 °C, final annealing at 1050 °C, straightening and final aging at 800 °C. The choice of titania and yttria powders and their concentrations were finalized on the basis of their out-of-pile and in-pile creep and tensile strength. As soon as a resistance butt welding machine was developed and installed in a glove-box, fuel segments with PuO2 were loaded in the Belgian MTR BR2. The fabrication parameters were continuously optimized: milling and beating, lubrication, cold drawing (partial and final reduction rates, temperature, duration, atmosphere and furnace). Specific non

Deep space missions with large payloads require high specific impulse and relatively high thrust to achieve mission goals in reasonable time frames.1,2 Conventional storable propellants produce average specific impulse. Nuclear thermal rockets capable of producing high specific impulse are proposed. Nuclear thermal rockets employ heat produced by fission reaction to heat and therefore accelerate hydrogen, which is then forced through a rocket nozzle providing thrust. Fuel element temperatures are very high (up to 3000 K), and hydrogen is highly reactive with most materials at high temperatures. Data covering the effects of high-temperature hydrogen exposure on fuel elements are limited.3 The primary concern is the mechanical failure of fuel elements that employ high-melting-point metals, ceramics, or a combination (cermet) as a structural matrix into which the nuclearfuel is distributed. The purpose of the testing is to obtain data to assess the properties of the non-nuclear support materials, as-fabricated, and determine their ability to survive and maintain thermal performance in a prototypical NTR reactor environment of exposure to hydrogen at very high temperatures. The fission process of the planned fissile material and the resulting heating performance is well known and does not therefore require that active fissile material be integrated in this testing. A small-scale test bed designed to heat fuel element samples via non-contact radio frequency heating and expose samples to hydrogen is being developed to assist in optimal material and manufacturing process selection without employing fissile material. This paper details the test bed design and results of testing conducted to date.

In 1985, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) sought to regulate rail shipments of spent nuclearfuel through the state, because federal regulations did not adequately protect the environmentally sensitive corridor along the route of the shipments. A state interagency working group identified five serious deficiencies in overall federal regulatory scheme: 1) failure to consider the safety or environmental risks associated with selected routes; 2) abscence of route-specific emergency response planning; 3) failure of the NRC to regulate the carrier of spent nuclearfuel or consider its safety record; 4) abscence of requirements for determination of need for, or the propriety of, specific shipments of spent nuclearfuel; and 5) the lack of any opportunity for meaningful public participation with respect to the decision to transport spent nuclearfuel. Pursuant to Wisconsin's hazardous substance statutes, the WDNR issues an order requiring the utility to file a spill prevention and mitigation plan or cease shipping through Wisconsin. A state trial court judge upheld the utility's challenge to Wisconsin's spill plan requirements, based on federal preemption of state authority. The state is now proposing federal legislation which would require: 1) NRC determination of need prior to approval of offsite shipment of spent fuel by the licensees; 2) NRC assessment of the potential environmental impacts of shipments along the proposed route, and comparative evaluation of alternative modes and routes; and 3) NRC approval of a route-specific emergency response and mitigation plan, including local training and periodic exercises. Additionally, the proposed legislation would authorize States and Indian Tribes to establish regulatory programs providing for permits, inspection, contingency plans for monitoring, containments, cleanup and decontamination, surveillance, enforcement and reasonable fees. 15 refs.

Deep space missions with large payloads require high specific impulse (Isp) and relatively high thrust in order to achieve mission goals in reasonable time frames. Conventional, storable propellants produce average Isp. Nuclear thermal rockets (NTR) capable of high Isp thrust have been proposed. NTR employs heat produced by fission reaction to heat and therefore accelerate hydrogen which is then forced through a rocket nozzle providing thrust. Fuel element temperatures are very high (up to 3000K) and hydrogen is highly reactive with most materials at high temperatures. Data covering the effects of high temperature hydrogen exposure on fuel elements is limited. The primary concern is the mechanical failure of fuel elements which employ high-melting-point metals, ceramics or a combination (cermet) as a structural matrix into which the nuclearfuel is distributed. It is not necessary to include fissile material in test samples intended to explore high temperature hydrogen exposure of the structural support matrices. A small-scale test bed designed to heat fuel element samples via non-contact RF heating and expose samples to hydrogen is being developed to assist in optimal material and manufacturing process selection without employing fissile material. This paper details the test bed design and results of testing conducted to date.

A high integrity can (HIC), designed to meet the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Section III, Div.3, static conditions) is proposed for the interim storage and repository disposal of Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclearfuel. The HIC will be approximately 5 3/8 inches (134.38mm) in outside diameter with 1/4 inch (6.35mm) thick walls, and have a removable lid with a metallic seal that is capable of being welded shut. The opening of the can is approximately 4 3/8 inches (111.13mm). The HIC is primarily designed to contain items in the DOE SNF inventory that do not meet acceptance standards for direct disposal in a geologic repository. This includes fuel in the form of particulate dusts, sectioned pieces of fuel, core rubble, melted or degraded (non-intact) fuel elements, unclad uranium alloys, metallurgical specimens, and chemically reactive fuel components. The HIC is intended to act as a substitute cladding for the spent nuclearfuel, further isolate problematic materials, provide a long-term corrosion barrier, and add an extra internal pressure barrier to the waste package. The HIC will also delay potential fission product release and maintain geometry control for extended periods of time. For the entire disposal package to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a HIC must effectively eliminate the disposal problems associated with problem SNF including the release of radioactive and/or reactive material and over pressurization of the HIC due to chemical reactions within the can. Two HICs were analyzed to envelop a range of can lengths between 42 and 101 inches. Using Abacus software, the HIC's were analyzed for end, side, and corner drops. Hastelloy C-22 was chosen based upon structural integrity, corrosion resistance, and neutron absorption properties.

A high integrity can (HIC), designed to meet the ASME Boiler and High Pressure Vessel Code (Section III, Div. 3, static conditions) is proposed for the interim storage and repository disposal of Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclearfuel. The HIC will be approximately 5 3/8 inches (134.38mm) in outside diameter with 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) thick walls, and have a removable lid with a metallic seal that is capable of being welded shut. The opening of the can is approximately 4 3/8 inches (111.13mm). This HIC is primarily designed to contain items in the DOE SNF inventory that do not meet acceptance standards for direct disposal in a geologic repository. This includes fuel in the form of particulate dusts, sectioned pieces of fuel, core rubble, melted or degraded (non-intact) fuel elements, unclad uranium alloys, metallurgical specimens, and chemically reactive fuel components. The HIC is intended to act as a substitute cladding for the spent nuclearfuel, further isolate problematic materials, provide a long-term corrosion barrier, and add an extra internal pressure barrier for the waste package. The HIC will also delay potential fission product release and maintain geometry control for extended periods of time. For the entire disposal package to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a HIC must effectively eliminate the disposal problems associated with problem SNF including the release of radioactive and/or reactive material and over pressurization of the HIC due to chemical reactions within the can. Two HICs were analyzed to envelop a range of can lengths between 42 and 101 inches. Using Abacus software, the HIC's were analyzed for end, side, and corner drops. Hastelloy C-22 was chosen based upon structural integrity, corrosion resistance, and neutron absorption properties.

A high integrity can (HIC), designed to meet the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Section III, Div. 3, static conditions) is proposed for the interim storage and repository disposal of Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclearfuel. The HIC will be approximately 5 3/8 inches (134.38mm) in outside diameter with 1/4 inch (6.35mm) thick walls, and have a removable lid with a metallic seal that is capable of being welded shut. The opening of the can is approximately 4 3/8 inches (111.13mm). The HIC is primarily designed to contain items in the DOE SNF inventory that do not meet acceptance standards for direct disposal in a geologic repository. This includes fuel in the form of particulate dusts, sectioned pieces of fuel, core rubble, melted or degraded (non-intact) fuel elements, unclad uranium alloys, metallurgical specimens, and chemically reactive fuel components. The HIC is intended to act as a substitute cladding for the spent nuclearfuel, further isolate problematic materials, provide a long-term corrosion barrier, and add an extra internal pressure barrier to the waste package. The HIC will also delay potential fission product release and maintain geometry control for extended periods of time. For the entire disposal package to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a HIC must effectively eliminate the disposal problems associated with problem SNF including the release of radioactive and/or reactive material and over pressurization of the HIC due to chemical reactions within the can. Two HICs were analyzed to envelop a range of can lengths between 42 and 101 inches. Using Abacus software, the HIC's were analyzed for end, side, and corner drops. Hastelloy C-22 was chosen based upon structural integrity, corrosion resistance, and neutron adsorption properties.

Inspection of nuclearfuel pellets is a complex and time-consuming process. At present, quality control in the fuel fabrication field mainly relies on human manual inspection, which is essentially a judgement call. Considering the high quality requirement of fuel pellets in the nuclear industry, pellet inspection systems must have a high accuracy rate in addition to a high inspection speed. Furthermore, any inspection process should have a low rejection rate of good pellets from the manufacturer point of view. It is very difficult to use traditional techniques, such as simple image comparison, to adequately perform the inspection process of the nuclearfuel pellet. Knowledge-based inspection and a defect-recognition algorithm, which maps the human inspection knowledge, is more robust and effective. A novel method is introduced here for pellet image processing. Three artificial intelligence techniques are studied and applied for fuel pellet inspection in this research. They are an artificial neural network, fuzzy logic, and the decision tree method. A dynamic reference model is located on each input fuel pellet image. Then, those pixels that belong to the abnormal defect are enhanced with high speed and high accuracy. Next, the content-based features for the defect are extracted from those abno1mal pixels and used in the inspection algorithm. Finally, an automated inspection prototype system---Visual Inspection Studio---which combines machine vision and these three AI techniques, is developed and tested. The experimental results indicate a very successful system with a high potential for on-line automatic inspection process.

In 1980 the Secure Automated Fabrication (SAF) Project was established with the goal to design, build, and operate a remote process for manufacturing breeder reactor fuelpins. The SAF line will be housed in the Fuels and Materials Examination Facility (FMEF) at the Hanford site. The fabrication system and supporting operations are designed for computer-controlled operation from a centralized control room. In addition to improved worker protection, remote and automated fuel fabrication operations will result in enhanced safeguards and accountability of fuel material, improved product quality, and increased productivity. Installation of the SAF line equipment has started. Qualification runs are scheduled to begin in 1986 with production commencing in 1987.

The reactor vessel of a nuclear reactor installation which is suspended from the cold leg nozzles in a reactor cavity is provided with a lower thermal insulating barrier spaced from the reactor vessel that has a hemispherical lower section that increases in volume from the center line of the reactor to the outer extent of the diameter of the thermal insulating barrier and smoothly transitions up the side walls of the vessel. The space between the thermal insulating harrier and the reactor vessel forms a chamber which can be flooded with cooling water through passive valving to directly cool the reactor vessel in the event of a severe accident. The passive inlet valve for the cooling water includes a buoyant door that is normally maintained sealed under its own weight and floats open when the cavity is Hooded. Passively opening steam vents are also provided.

Technical and economic projections strongly suggest that fossil fuels will continue to play a dominant role in the global energy market through at least the mid twenty-first century. However, low-cost conventional oil and gas will be depleted in that time frame. Therefore new sources of energy will be needed. We discuss two relatively untapped unconventional fossil fuels: heavy oil and gas hydrate. In both cases, nuclear magnetic resonance plays a key role in appraising the resource and providing information needed for designing production processes.

A nuclear reactor fuel element is described which has an outer cladding, a central core of fissionable or mixed fissionable and fertile fuel material and a layer of vanadium as an oxygen getter on the inner surface of the cladding. The vanadium reacts with oxygen released by the fissionable material during irradiation of the core to prevent the oxygen from reacting with and corroding the cladding. Also described is a method for coating the inner surface of small diameter tubes of cladding with a layer of vanadium.

Detailed understanding between microstructure evolution and mechanical properties is important for designing new high burnup nuclearfuels. In this presentation we discuss the use of picosecond ultrasonics to measure localize changes in mechanical properties of fuel surrogates. We develop measurement techniques that can be applied to investigate heterogeneous elastic properties caused by localize changes in chemistry, grain microstructure caused by recrystallization, and mechanical properties of small samples prepared using focused ion beam sample preparation. Emphasis is placed on understanding the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties

A method of fabricating a nuclear reactor fuel element is given. It consists essentially of fixing two tubes in concentric relationship with respect to one another to provide an annulus therebetween, filling the annulus with a fissionablematerial-containing powder, compacting the powder material within the annulus and closing the ends thereof. The powder material is further compacted by swaging the inner surface of the inner tube to increase its diameter while maintaining the original size of the outer tube. This process results in reduced fabrication costs of powdered fissionable material type fuel elements and a substantial reduction in the peak core temperatures while materially enhancing the heat removal characteristics.

The Czech nuclear power plant Dukovany started its operation in 1985. All fuel spent from 1985 up to the end of 2005 is stored at a dry interim storage, which was designed for 60 CASTOR-440/84 casks. Each of these casks can accommodate 84 fuel assemblies from VVER 440 reactors. Neutron-photon mixed fields around the casks were characterized in terms of ambient dose equivalent measured by standard area dosemeters. Except this, neutron spectra were measured by means of a Bonner sphere spectrometer, and the measured spectra were used to derive the corresponding ambient dose equivalent due to neutrons. PMID:17526479

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident brought together compromised irradiated fuel and large amounts of seawater in a high radiation field. Based on newly acquired thermochemical data for a series of uranyl peroxide compounds containing charge-balancing alkali cations, here we show that nanoscale cage clusters containing as many as 60 uranyl ions, bonded through peroxide and hydroxide bridges, are likely to form in solution or as precipitates under such conditions. These species will enhance the corrosion of the damaged fuel and, being thermodynamically stable and kinetically persistent in the absence of peroxide, they can potentially transport uranium over long distances. PMID:22308442

A container with a valve at one end is inserted into a nuclear reactor coolant pool. Once in the pool, the valve is opened by a mechanical linkage. An individual fuel subassembly is lifted into the container by a gripper; the valve is then closed providing an isolated chamber for the subassembly. A vacuum is drawn on the chamber to encourage gaseous fission product leakage through any defects in the cladding of the fuel rods comprising the subassembly; this leakage may be detected by instrumentation, and the need for replacement of the assembly ascertained.

A portable instrument for measuring induced Cerenkov radiation associated with irradiated nuclearfuel assemblies in a water-filled storage pond is disclosed. The instrument includes a photomultiplier tube and an image intensifier which are operable in parallel and simultaneously by means of a field lens assembly and an associated beam splitter. The image intensifier permits an operator to aim and focus the apparatus on a submerged fuel assembly. Once the instrument is aimed and focused, an illumination reading can be obtained with the photomultiplier tube. The instrument includes a lens cap with a carbon-14/phosphor light source for calibrating the apparatus in the field.

Spent nuclearfuels, including actinide fuels, volatile and non-volatile fission products, are reprocessed and separated in a molten metal solvent housed in a separation vessel made of a carbon-containing material. A first catalyst, which promotes the solubility and permeability of carbon in the metal solvent, is included. By increasing the solubility and permeability of the carbon in the solvent, the rate at which actinide oxides are reduced (carbothermic reduction) is greatly increased. A second catalyst, included to increase the affinity for nitrogen in the metal solvent, is added to increase the rate at which actinide nitrides form after carbothermic reduction is complete.

Spent nuclearfuels, including actinide fuels, volatile and nonvolatile fission products, are reprocessed and separated in a molten metal solvent housed in a separation vessel made of a carbon-containing material. A first catalyst, which promotes the solubility and permeability of carbon in the metal solvent, is included. By increasing the solubility and permeability of the carbon in the solvent, the rate at which actinide oxides are reduced (carbothermic reduction) is greatly increased. A second catalyst, included to increase the affinity for nitrogen in the metal solvent, is added to increase the rate at which actinide nitrides form after carbothermic reduction is complete.

A method for evaluating the room temperature ductility behavior of irradiated Zircaloy-4 nuclearfuel cladding has been developed and applied to evaluate tensile hoop strength of material irradiated to different levels. The test utilizes a polyurethane plug fitted within a tubular cladding specimen. A cylindrical punch is used to compress the plug axially, which generates a radial displacement that acts upon the inner diameter of the specimen. Position sensors track the radial displacement of the specimen outer diameter as the compression proceeds. These measurements coupled with ram force data provide a load-displacement characterization of the cladding response to internal pressurization. The development of this simple, cost-effective, highly reproducible test for evaluating tensile hoop strain as a function of internal pressure for irradiated specimens represents a significant advance in the mechanical characterization of irradiated cladding. In this project, nuclearfuel rod assemblies using Zircaloy-4 cladding and two types of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel pellets were irradiated to varying levels of burnup. Fuel pellets were manufactured with and without thermally induced gallium removal (TIGR) processing. Fuel pellets manufactured by both methods were contained in fuel rod assemblies and irradiated to burnup levels of 9, 21, 30, 40, and 50 GWd/MT. These levels of fuel burnup correspond to fast (E > 1 MeV) fluences of 0.27, 0.68, 0.98, 1.4 and 1.7 1021 neutrons/cm2, respectively. Following irradiation, fuel rod assemblies were disassembled; fuel pellets were removed from the cladding; and the inner diameter of cladding was cleaned to remove residue materials. Tensile hoop strength of this cladding material was tested using the newly developed method. Unirradiated Zircaloy-4 cladding was also tested. With the goal of determining the effect of the two fuel types and different neutron fluences on clad ductility, tensile hoop strength tests were

Rising oil costs, global warming, national security concerns, economic concerns and escalating energy demands are forcing the engineering communities to explore methods to address these concerns. It is the intention of this thesis to offer a proposal for a novel design of a combined cycle, an advanced nuclear helium reactor/solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) plant that will help to mitigate some of the above concerns. Moreover, the adoption of this proposal may help to reinvigorate the Nuclear Power industry while providing a practical method to foster the development of a hydrogen economy. Specifically, this thesis concentrates on the importance of the U.S. Nuclear Navy adopting this novel design for its nuclear electric vessels of the future with discussion on efficiency and thermodynamic performance characteristics related to the combined cycle. Thus, the goals and objectives are to develop an innovative combined cycle that provides a solution to the stated concerns and show that it provides superior performance. In order to show performance, it is necessary to develop a rigorous thermodynamic model and computer program to analyze the SOFC in relation with the overall cycle. A large increase in efficiency over the conventional pressurized water reactor cycle is realized. Both sides of the cycle achieve higher efficiencies at partial loads which is extremely important as most naval vessels operate at partial loads as well as the fact that traditional gas turbines operating alone have poor performance at reduced speeds. Furthermore, each side of the cycle provides important benefits to the other side. The high temperature exhaust from the overall exothermic reaction of the fuel cell provides heat for the reheater allowing for an overall increase in power on the nuclear side of the cycle. Likewise, the high temperature helium exiting the nuclear reactor provides a controllable method to stabilize the fuel cell at an optimal temperature band even during transients helping

Dramatic progress has been made in all branches of physics since the National Research Council's 1986 decadal survey of the field. The Physics in a New Era series explores these advances and looks ahead to future goals. The series includes assessments of the major subfields and reports on several smaller subfields, and preparation has begun on an overview volume on the unity of physics, its relationships to other fields, and its contributions to national needs. Nuclear Physics is the latest volume of the series. The book describes current activity in understanding nuclear structure and symmetries, the behavior of matter at extreme densities, the role of nuclear physics in astrophysics and cosmology, and the instrumentation and facilities used by the field. It makes recommendations on the resources needed for experimental and theoretical advances in the coming decade. Nuclear physics addresses the nature of matter making up 99.9 percent of the mass of our everyday world. It explores the nuclear reactions that fuel the stars, including our Sun, which provides the energy for all life on Earth. The field of nuclear physics encompasses some 3,000 experimental and theoretical researchers who work at universities and national laboratories across the United States, as well as the experimental facilities and infrastructure that allow these researchers to address the outstanding scientific questions facing us. This report provides an overview of the frontiers of nuclear physics as we enter the next millennium, with special attention to the state of the science in the United States.The current frontiers of nuclear physics involve fundamental and rapidly evolving issues. One is understanding the structure and behavior of strongly interacting matter in terms of its basic constituents, quarks and gluons, over a wide range of conditions - from normal nuclear matter to the dense cores of neutron stars, and to the Big Bang that was the birth of the universe. Another is to describe

Enhancing performance of fuel cladding and duct alloys is a key means of increasing fuel burnup. This project will address the failure of fuel cladding via three-dimensional cracking models. Researchers will develop a simulation code for the failure of the fuel cladding and validate the code through experiments. The objective is to develop an algorithm to determine the failure of fuel cladding in the form of three-dimensional cracking due to prolonged exposure under varying conditions of pressure, temperature, chemical environment, and irradiation. This project encompasses the following tasks: 1. Simulate 3D crack initiation and growth under instantaneous and/or fatigue loads using a new variant of the material point method (MPM); 2. Simulate debonding of the materials in the crack path using cohesive elements, considering normal and shear traction separation laws; 3. Determine the crack propagation path, considering damage of the materials incorporated in the cohesive elements to allow the energy release rate to be minimized; 4. Simulate the three-dimensional fatigue crack growth as a function of loading histories; 5. Verify the simulation code by comparing results to theoretical and numerical studies available in the literature; 6. Conduct experiments to observe the crack path and surface profile in unused fuel cladding and validate against simulation results; and 7. Expand the adaptive mesh refinement infrastructure parallel processing environment to allow adaptive mesh refinement at the 3D crack fronts and adaptive mesh merging in the wake of cracks. Fuel cladding is made of materials such as stainless steels and ferritic steels with added alloying elements, which increase stability and durability under irradiation. As fuel cladding is subjected to water, chemicals, fission gas, pressure, high temperatures, and irradiation while in service, understanding performance is essential. In the fast fuel used in advanced burner reactors, simulations of the nuclear

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization has recommended to the Canadian federal government an adaptive phased management approach to the long-term management of used nuclearfuel. This approach includes isolation in a deep geologic repository. In such a repository, the fuel would be sealed inside a carbon steel-lined copper container. To assist the development of performance assessment models studies of fuel behaviour inside a failed waste container are underway. Using an iterative modeling and experimental approach, the important features and processes that determine fuel behaviour have been identified and studied. These features and processes are discussed and the results of studies to elucidate specific mechanisms and determine important parameter values summarized. (authors)

This paper aims to present the advantages of dry cask storage in comparison with the wet storage (cooling water pools) for SNF. When the nuclearfuel is removed from the core reactor, it is moved to a storage unit and it wait for a final destination. Generally, the spent nuclearfuel (SNF) remains inside water pools within the reactors facility for the radioactive activity decay. After some period of time in pools, SNF can be sent to a definitive deposition in a geological repository and handled as radioactive waste or to reprocessing facilities, or still, wait for a future solution. Meanwhile, SNF remains stored for a period of time in dry or wet facilities, depending on the method adopted by the nuclear power plant or other plans of the country. Interim storage, up to 20 years ago, was exclusively wet and if the nuclear facility had to be decommissioned another storage solution had to be found. At the present time, after a preliminary cooling of the SNF elements inside the water pool, the elements can be stored in dry facilities. This kind of storage does not need complex radiation monitoring and it is safer then wet one. Casks, either concrete or metallic, are safer, especially on occurrence of earthquakes, like that occurred at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, in Japan on July 16, 2007. (authors)

The concepts of international control over technologies and materials in the proliferation sensitive parts of the nuclearfuel cycle, specifically those related to enrichment and reprocessing, have been the subject of many studies and initiatives over the years. For examples: the International Fissionable Material Storage proposal in President Eisenhower's Speech on Atoms for Peace, and in the Charter of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) when the organization was formed in 1957; the regional nuclearfuel cycle center centers proposed by INFCE in the 80's; and most recently and notably, proposals by Dr. ElBaradei, the Director General of IAEA to limit production and processing of nuclear weapons usable materials to facilities under multinational control; and by U.S. President George W. Bush, to limit enrichment and reprocessing to States that have already full scale, functioning plants. There are other recent proposals on this subject as well. In this paper, the similarities and differences, as well as the effectiveness and challenges in proliferation prevention of these proposals and concepts will be discussed. The intent is to articulate a ''new nuclear regime'' and to develop concrete steps to implement such regime for future nuclear energy and deployment.

A method and apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclearfuel is described. Within a containment vessel, a solid plug of tin and nitride precipitates supports a circulating bath of liquid tin therein. Spent nuclearfuel is immersed in the liquid tin under an atmosphere of nitrogen, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates. The layer of liquid tin and nitride precipitates which interfaces the plug is solidified and integrated with the plug. Part of the plug is melted, removing nitride precipitates from the containment vessel, while a portion of the plug remains solidified to support the liquid tin and nitride precipitates remaining in the containment vessel. The process is practiced numerous times until substantially all of the precipitated nitrides are removed from the containment vessel.

Engineering scale nuclearfuel performance simulations can benefit by utilizing high-fidelity models running at a lower length scale. Lower length-scale models provide a detailed view of the material behavior that is used to determine the average material response at the macroscale. These lower length-scale calculations may provide insight into material behavior where experimental data is sparse or nonexistent. This multiscale approach is especially useful in the nuclear field, since irradiation experiments are difficult and expensive to conduct. The lower length-scale models complement the experiments by influencing the types of experiments required and by reducing the total number of experiments needed. This multiscale modeling approach is a central motivation in the development of the BISON-MARMOT fuel performance codes at Idaho National Laboratory. These codes seek to provide more accurate and predictive solutions for nuclearfuel behavior. One critical aspect of multiscale modeling is the ability to extract the relevant information from the lower length-scale sim- ulations. One approach, the asymptotic expansion homogenization (AEH) technique, has proven to be an effective method for determining homogenized material parameters. The AEH technique prescribes a system of equations to solve at the microscale that are used to compute homogenized material constants for use at the engineering scale. In this work, we employ AEH to explore the effect of evolving microstructural thermal conductivity and elastic constants on nuclearfuel performance. We show that the AEH approach fits cleanly into the BISON and MARMOT codes and provides a natural, multidimensional homogenization capability.

The future of nuclear energy and its ability to fulfill part of the world’s energy needs for centuries to come depend on a reliable input of nuclearfuel, either thorium or uranium. Obviously, the present nuclearfuel cycle is completely dependent on uranium. Future thorium cycles will also depend on 235U or fissile isotopes separated from used fuel to breed 232Th into fissile 233U. This letter report discusses several emerging areas of scientific understanding and technology development that will clarify and enable assured supplies of uranium and thorium well into the future. At the most fundamental level, the nuclear energy community needs to appreciate the origins of uranium and thorium and the processes of planetary accretion by which those materials have coalesced to form the earth and other planets. Secondly, the studies of geophysics and geochemistry are increasing understanding of the processes by which uranium and thorium are concentrated in various locations in the earth’s crust. Thirdly, the study of neutrinos and particularly geoneutrinos (neutrinos emitted by radioactive materials within the earth) has given an indication of the overall global inventories of uranium and thorium, though little indication for those materials’ locations. Crustal temperature measurements have also given hints of the vertical distribution of radioactive heat sources, primarily 238U and 232Th, within the continental crust. Finally, the evolving technologies for laser isotope separation are indicating methods for reducing the energy input to uranium enrichment but also for tailoring the isotopic vectors of fuels, burnable poisons and structural materials, thereby adding another tool for dealing with long-term waste management.

Nuclearfuel processing solution consisting of tri-n-butyl phosphate and dodecane, with a complex of uranium, plutonium, or zirconium and with a solvent degradation product such as di-n-butyl phosphate therein, is contacted with an aqueous solution of a salt formed from hydrazine and either a dicarboxylic acid or a hydroxycarboxylic acid, thereby removing the aforesaid complex from the processing solution.

Nuclearfuel processing solution consisting of tri-n-butyl phosphate and dodecane, with a complex of uranium, plutonium, or zirconium and with a solvent degradation product such as di-n-butyl phosphate therein, is contacted with an aqueous solution of a salt formed from hydrazine and either a dicarboxylic acid or a hydroxycarboxylic acid, thereby removing the aforesaid complex from the processing solution.

A locking connection for releasably attaching a handling socket to the duct tube of a fuel assembly for a nuclear reactor. The connection comprises a load pad housing mechanically attached to the duct tube and a handling socket threadably secured within the housing. A retaining ring is interposed between the housing and the handling socket and is formed with a projection and depression engageable within a cavity and groove of the housing and handling socket, respectively, to form a detachable interlocked connection assembly.

A locking connection for releasably attaching a handling socket to the duct tube of a fuel assembly for a nuclear reactor. The connection comprises a load pad housing mechanically attached to the duct tube and a handling socket threadably secured within the housing. A retaining ring is interposed between the housing and the handling socket and is formed with a projection and depression engagable within a cavity and groove of the housing and handling socket, respectively, to form a detachable interlocked connection assembly.

This Conceptual Design Report provides the technical basis for the Spent NuclearFuels Project, Canister Storage Building, and as amended by letter (correspondence number 9555700, M.E. Witherspoon to E.B. Sellers, ``Technical Baseline and Updated Cost Estimate for the Canister Storage Building``, dated October 24, 1995), includes the project cost baseline and Criteria to be used as the basis for starting detailed design in fiscal year 1995.

In 1998, a major change in the technical strategy for managing Multi Canister Overpacks (MCO) while stored within the Canister Storage Building (CSB) occurred. The technical strategy is documented in Baseline Change Request (BCR) No. SNF-98-006, Simplified SNF Project Baseline (MCO Sealing) (FDH 1998). This BCR deleted the hot conditioning process initially adopted for the Spent NuclearFuel Project (SNF Project) as documented in WHC-SD-SNF-SP-005, Integrated Process Strategy for K Basins Spent NuclearFuel (WHC 199.5). In summary, MCOs containing Spent NuclearFuel (SNF) from K Basins would be placed in interim storage following processing through the Cold Vacuum Drying (CVD) facility. With this change, the needs for the Hot Conditioning System (HCS) and inerting/pressure retaining capabilities of the CSB storage tubes and the MCO Handling Machine (MHM) were eliminated. Mechanical seals will be used on the MCOs prior to transport to the CSB. Covers will be welded on the MCOs for the final seal at the CSB. Approval of BCR No. SNF-98-006, imposed the need to review and update the CSB functions and requirements baseline documented herein including changing the document title to ''Spent NuclearFuel Project Canister Storage Building Functions and Requirements.'' This revision aligns the functions and requirements baseline with the CSB Simplified SNF Project Baseline (MCO Sealing). This document represents the Canister Storage Building (CSB) Subproject technical baseline. It establishes the functions and requirements baseline for the implementation of the CSB Subproject. The document is organized in eight sections. Sections 1.0 Introduction and 2.0 Overview provide brief introductions to the document and the CSB Subproject. Sections 3.0 Functions, 4.0 Requirements, 5.0 Architecture, and 6.0 Interfaces provide the data described by their titles. Section 7.0 Glossary lists the acronyms and defines the terms used in this document. Section 8.0 References lists the

The Naval Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Container System supports the confinement and isolation of waste within the Engineered Barrier System of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). Disposal containers/waste packages are loaded and sealed in the surface waste handling facilities, transferred underground through the access drifts using a rail mounted transporter, and emplaced in emplacement drifts. The Naval Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Container System provides long term confinement of the naval spent nuclearfuel (SNF) placed within the disposal containers, and withstands the loading, transfer, emplacement, and retrieval operations. The Naval Spent NuclearFuel Disposal Container System provides containment of waste for a designated period of time and limits radionuclide release thereafter. The waste package maintains the waste in a designated configuration, withstands maximum credible handling and rockfall loads, limits the waste form temperature after emplacement, resists corrosion in the expected handling and repository environments, and provides containment of waste in the event of an accident. Each naval SNF disposal container will hold a single naval SNF canister. There will be approximately 300 naval SNF canisters, composed of long and short canisters. The disposal container will include outer and inner cylinder walls and lids. An exterior label will provide a means by which to identify a disposal container and its contents. Different materials will be selected for the waste package inner and outer cylinders. The two metal cylinders, in combination with the Emplacement Drift System, drip shield, and the natural barrier will support the design philosophy of defense-in-depth. The use of materials with different properties prevents a single mode failure from breaching the waste package. The inner cylinder and inner cylinder lids will be constructed of stainless steel while the outer cylinder and outer cylinder lids will be made of high-nickel alloy.

The purpose of this analysis is to document the Quality Assurance (QA) classification of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) naval spent nuclearfuel disposal container system structures, systems and components (SSCs) performed by the MGR Safety Assurance Department. This analysis also provides the basis for revision of YMP/90-55Q, Q-List (YMF 1998). The Q-List identifies those MGR SSCs subject to the requirements of DOE/RW-0333P, ''Quality Assurance Requirements and Description'' (QARD) (DOE 1998).

This paper presents lessons learned from a Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of the potential for a criticality in a repository containing spent nuclearfuel with high enriched uranium. The insights gained consisted of remarkably detailed conclusions about design issues, failure mechanisms, frequencies and source terms for events up to 10,000 years in the future. Also discussed are the approaches taken by the analysts in presenting this very technical report to a nontechnical and possibly antagonistic audience.

To help meet the nation’s energy needs, recycling of partially used nuclearfuel is required to close the nuclearfuel cycle, but implementing this step will require considerable investment. This report evaluates financing scenarios for integrating recycling facilities into the nuclearfuel cycle. A range of options from fully government owned to fully private owned were evaluated using DPL (Decision Programming Language 6.0), which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest lifecycle cost, lowest unit cost). This evaluation concludes that the lowest unit costs and lifetime costs are found for a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. However, this does not mean that the facilities should necessarily be constructed and operated by the government. The costs for hybrid combinations of public and private (commercial) financed options can compete under some circumstances with the costs of the government option. This analysis shows that commercial operations have potential to be economical, but there is presently no incentive for private industry involvement. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) currently establishes government ownership of partially used commercial nuclearfuel. In addition, the recently announced Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) suggests fuels from several countries will be recycled in the United States as part of an international governmental agreement; this also assumes government ownership. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual facility capacity led to the greatest variations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; and the annual operating costs, forgiveness of debt, and overnight costs dominate the costs computed for

If an implantable artificial heart can be developed, it should prove beneficial to a significant group of patients. A variety of energy sources, such as biologic, electromagnetic, and nuclear, are under evaluation. Currently, biologic fuel cell technology is not sufficiently advanced to permit its extrapolation to the power levels required for implantable circulatory support systems. Electromagnetic systems have the disadvantage of heavy batteries of considerable bulk requiring frequent recharging. Radioisotope-fueled thermal engine systems have the potential of providing degrees of freedom not possible with rechargeable units. However, radiosotope circulatory support systems subject their recipients to prolonged intracorporeal radiation, add to environmental background radiation, and constitute an exceedingly small, but finite, hazard due to possible violation of fuel containment. PMID:15215965

A thermal barrier/core support for the fuel core of a nuclear reactor having a metallic cylinder secured to the reactor vessel liner and surrounded by fibrous insulation material. A top cap is secured to the upper end of the metallic cylinder that locates and orients a cover block and post seat. Under normal operating conditions, the metallic cylinder supports the entire load exerted by its associated fuel core post. Disposed within the metallic cylinder is a column of ceramic material, the height of which is less than that of the metallic cylinder, and thus is not normally load bearing. In the event of a temperature excursion beyond the design limits of the metallic cylinder and resulting in deformation of the cylinder, the ceramic column will abut the top cap to support the fuel core post.

This report presents evaluations, findings, and recommendations of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) Spent NuclearFuel Task Team. The technical strategy developed by the Task Team includes stabilization, near term storage, packaging, transport, and ultimate disposal. Key issues identified and discussed include waste characterization, criticality, packaging, waste form performance, and special fuels. Current plans focus on onsite needs, and include three central elements: (1) resolution of near-term vulnerabilities, (2) consolidation of storage locations, and (3) achieving dry storage in transportable packages. In addition to the Task Team report, appendices contain information on the INEEL spent fuel inventory; regulatory decisions and agreements; and analyses of criticality, packaging, storage, transportation, and system performance of a geological repository. 16 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.

A technical assessment of the current inventory [∼70,150 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) as of 2011] of U.S.-discharged used nuclearfuel (UNF) has been performed to support decisions regarding fuel cycle strategies and research, development and demonstration (RD and D) needs. The assessment considered discharged UNF from commercial nuclear electricity generation and defense and research programs and determined that the current UNF inventory can be divided into the following three categories: 1. Disposal - excess material that is not needed for other purposes; 2. Research - material needed for RD and D purposes to support waste management (e.g., UNF storage, transportation, and disposal) and development of alternative fuel cycles (e.g., separations and advanced fuels/reactors); and 3. Recycle/Recovery - material with inherent and/or strategic value. A set of key assumptions and attributes relative to the various disposition options were used to categorize the current UNF inventory. Based on consideration of RD and D needs, time frames and material needs for deployment of alternative fuel cycles, characteristics of the current UNF inventory, and possible uses to support national security interests, it was determined that the vast majority of the current UNF inventory should be placed in the Disposal category, without the need to make fuel retrievable from disposal for reuse or research purposes. Access to the material in the Research and Recycle/Recovery categories should be retained to support RD and D needs and national security interests. This assessment does not assume any decision about future fuel cycle options or preclude any potential options, including those with potential recycling of commercial UNF. (authors)